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THE 

JOYOUS ADVENTURES 
OF JOHN AND BETTY 

BY 

ELISABETH H. CHENEY 


Illustrated by 

HATTIE LONGSTREET PRICE 


THE PENN PUBLISHING 
COMPANY 
1921 



COPYRIGHT 
1921 BY 
THE PENN 
PUBLISHING 
COMPANY 



The Joyous Adventures of John and Betty 



NOV -3 1921 


0)Cl.fl627557 


Introduction 


“ The Joyous Adventures of John and Betty ” 
begins the story of the interesting life of two of the 
most wide-awake American youngsters we have 
met in a long time. 

Their father died when they were quite young 
and through the failure of a bank, their brave little 
mother was forced to earn a living for the two chil- 
dren and herself. This necessitated their moving 
to the country. 

John and Betty accept more responsibility than 
is intended for them and help Mother make both 
ends meet. 

How they start a candy route and how Christ- 
mas brings them all great happiness is told in this 
— the first volume of “ J ohn and Betty.’’ 


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Contents 


I. 

John and Betty 

0 

d o 

9 

II. 

Sunday School . 


9 • 

20 

III. 

Captain Kidd 



29 

IV. 

The Fairies 



46 

V. 

The Glorious Fourth 



57 

VI. 

Business and the King of England 


62 

VII. 

The Road to Wealth 



75 

VIII. 

A Declaration of War 



87 

IX. 

Entertainment Offensive and 

Defensive . 

98 

X. 

Repentance 

, 

, , 

III 

XI. 

A Royal Fugitive 


o • 

127 

XII. 

A Royal Captive 

, 

, , 

142 

XIII. 

Farmer Mann . 

, 

, 

149 

XIV. 

Billy 

, 

, , 

164 

XV. 

Billy the Outcast . 

, 

, , 

176 

XVI. 

Betty and Billy 

, 

, , 

188 

XVII. 

The Great Horse Race . 

. 

, 

204 

XVIII. 

The Circus 

. 

. 

220 

XIX. 

Fame 

. 

. 

232 

XX. 

Betty Decides to be a Famous Author . 

243 

XXL 

An Unappreciated Genius 

. 

. 

248 

XXII. 

An Authoress at Last 

. 

. 

257 

XXIII. 

Christmas Chimes 

, 

. 

266 

XXIV. 

The Lost is Found . 

O 

, 

281 


5 





Illustrations 


PAGE 


“Will Therk Be Trees to Climb”? Frontispiece ^ 
The Old Man Was Poking At It . . 

Pathfinder Picked Up His Trail in The 

Woods ... ... 146^ 

If Only He Could Pass The Gray . 216^ 

It Looked Quite Gay .... 273 ^ 


The Joyous Adventures of John and Betty 



I 




\ 


\ 





The Joyous Adventures of John 
and Betty 


CHAPTER I 

JOHN AND BETTY 

John and Betty Stamford were a brother and 
sister, who had always lived, as long as they could 
remember, in a big house in a big city with their 
mother. Of course there was Nurse Mary, too, who 
had scrubbed their faces and dressed the children, 
while they were still little, and who now fussed over 
their clothes and tried to look after them when 
Mother was too busy. 

Once upon a time there had been Papa, too, but 
it was so long ago that the children could hardly 
remember. Betty just had a vague recollection of 
a big man with a rumbly voice, who always had 
candy in his pocket, and who felt scratchy when he 
kissed her. John could remember going to the Zoo 
with Papa once, and playing hobby horse on his 
foot, but his remembrance did not go much farther. 

John was almost twelve now, and Betty nearly 
9 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 


ten. They both felt very big and important, and 
for several years they had been studying lessons 
every morning with Mother. Mother did not be- 
lieve in sending small children to school. She 
thought it tended to destroy something she called 
their “ individuality.” Betty was not quite clear as 
to what that word meant, and even John was 
vague, but the little girl was sure that she must 
possess it. She was firm on the subject of having 
everything mentioned, even measles. 

But now the pleasant, busy life in the city was 
coming to an end. They were going to live in a 
little house down in the country, which Mother said 
belonged to them, but which they had never seen. 
Their old nurse, and Bridget in the kitchen, all the 
familiar faces and things, were to be left behind. 
Only Mother, John and Betty were to join in this 
great adventure, which seemed to the children a de- 
lightful change. They were greatly excited about 
it, and tireless in running up and down, superin- 
tending the packing. Their tongues were even 
busier than their feet; Betty, particularly, was full 
of questions about the new home. 

“ Will there be trees to climb? ” she asked. 

“ Oh, yes,” replied Mother, as she carefully laid 
away one of the little girl’s white afternoon frocks 
in the tray of the big trunk. “ There is an orchard 
back of the house.” 

lo 


JOHN AND BETTY. 


Betty, her eyes shining like bits of smiling blue 
sky, turned to her brother John, who sat beside her 
on the lid of a trunk stuffed so full that it refused 
to shut even under their chubby weight. “ I think 
it’s perfectly lovely to be poor — ^with an orchard,” 
she announced. 

And then a dreadful thing happened. Mother 
began to cry. She bent over the trunk and the 
tears dropped down on the white dress she had just 
put away so carefully. The children watched a 
moment with round eyes. They would not have 
been a bit surprised if a trumpet had blown an- 
nouncing the end of the world. Nothing could be 
more surprising than Mother, their strong refuge 
in all times of trouble, actually crying. Betty 
slipped down from the trunk lid, and ran and put 
her arms around Mother. Mother stopped crying 
and hugged the child up close. “ My little sun- 
beam,” she said, “ what would I do without 
you!” 

Betty always remembered that. Knowing that 
Mother depended on her made her feel very much 
older than her ten years. And she tried very hard 
after that to really be a little sunbeam. Even 
when she was sad inside she would smile, and she 
was always trying to think of something cheerful 
and funny to say. And then Betty found that pre- 
tending to be happy really made her so. 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 


John and Betty knew that something called a 
bank, in which Papa had put all his money before 
he died, had failed. The little girl pictured a bank 
as something like the little fat pig that stood on the 
nursery shelf, in which she kept all her pennies, and 
even nickels and dimes, when she could keep from 
spending them at the candy store around the cor- 
ner. But John, who was two years older, and 
therefore very wise, said that a hank was just a big 
red building made of bricks, where people kept 
mountains of money in big cages, so nobody could 
take it. He had been in one twice with Mother. 
Neither of the children could quite understand 
what happened when a bank failed; whether it fell 
down and buried all the money, or burned up, or 
just disappeared the way things in fairy stories 
sometimes did. 

The last afternoon that their nurse took them 
walking, the children coaxed her to take them past 
the bank. As they came in sight of it, they looked 
fearfully to see what remained of it. But there the 
red brick building stood, with a policeman on the 
steps, and a little crowd of people on the sidewalk 
in front. John gasped and pointed. “ Why, it’s 
all there! ” he cried. 

“ Oh, won’t Mamma be glad! ” chuckled Betty, 
and she ran quickly across the street, while Nurse 
Mary hurried after her. Betty smiled sweetly at 
12 


JOHN AND BETTY 


the policeman, and two dimples appeared in her 
rosy cheeks. The big policeman grinned back. “ I 
came for Mamma’s money,” Betty said. “ She 
didn’t know the bank was still here all right.” 

The policeman stopped smiling and looked sorry. 
“ The money’s all gone,” he said. 

Betty’s face clouded. “ Did they shake it all 
out? ” she asked. 

“ Yes, they stole it, the rascals! ” said a man in 
the crowd. 

“ Hush,” warned Nurse Mary, as she came up. 

Don’t put ideas in the child’s head.” 

It was late in the afternoon when Mother and 
the children arrived at their new home. Even 
Betty’s heart sank a little, when she saw it. The 
house was rather a pretty little white cottage, hut it 
needed paint, and the grass around it was high and 
uncared for. On both sides stretehed empty fields. 
The city-bred child had to look across the street at 
the row of new little red brick houses, reassuringly 
full of people, before she felt quite safe. The mov- 
ers had already arrived, and were carrying big arm- 
loads of furniture into the little cottage. Mother 
was directing them where to put it. Betty looked 
doubtfully at John. “ Let’s go find the orchard,” 
he said. 

So they ploughed through the high grass around 
to the back of the house. And there stood rows and 

13 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 

rows of trees, more than Betty could count. There 
were some with little green pears, some with apples, 
plums and peaches, and there were two trees full 
of ripe cherries. The two children cried out with 
delight. “ Let’s pretend we’re Robinson Crusoe 
and Man Friday on a desert island,” suggested 
Betty. “ And this is all there is to eat for dinner. 
You take that tree and I’ll take this one.” 

“ All right,” agreed John. And a moment later 
they were scrambling up. 

At last Mother called. The children climbed 
down obediently, for they had stuffed as many 
cherries as they could hold. As they started 
toward the house, Betty looked at John, and her 
eyes and mouth rounded into O’s of horror, for 
John had on a sailor suit which had once been spot- 
lessly white, but now it was all cheny stains down 
the front and tree stains in back. Then she looked 
at her own pale blue dress; it was almost as bad. 
The two children stood still and thought anxiously. 
“ Those were dreadful dirty trees,” said Betty, in 
a disapproving tone. “ I don’t expect they’d ever 
been washed.” 

J ohn nodded sadly. “ I don’t think we’ll get any 
supper, if we go in like this,” he said. 

Betty swallowed. “ I haven’t got much room, 
anyway,” she replied, cheerfully. Then an idea 
struck her. She examined her frock. “ It’s mostl}^ 

14 


JOHN AND BETTY 

dirty on the outside,” she announced. “ Let’s turn 
them inside out,” 

It was no sooner said than done. And in a few 
minutes the children entered the house outwardly 
fairly clean. Supper was already on the table, and 
they pulled up chairs and sat down. But Mother 
looked at them oddly. “ What ever is the matter 
with your clothes?” she asked. “They look too 
funny.” She examined John’s suit. “ Why, it’s 
on wrong side out ! ” 

John gulped a piece of potato and blushed. 
“ We — ^we thought they looked nicer that way,” he 
stammered. 

Mother unbuttoned his blouse and turned it, and 
then she understood. The two children looked 
guilty, but Mother was not cross. Her lips quiv- 
ered a minute, and then she sat down and laughed 
until the tears came. John and Betty laughed, 
too. 

The next morning John and Betty began by try- 
ing to see how many trees they could climb before 
lunch time. Mother had dressed them in old dark 
clothes that they could not hurt much, so there was 
nothing to prevent them from having a glorious 
time. They went up the cherry trees first and 
stayed there so long, that they did not feel like ex- 
ercising much afterward. So they climbed up in 
the big maple tree by the front gate, and began 

15 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 

watching the little red houses across the street. 
Everybody seemed to be washing, and there were 
pairs and pairs of little stockings on the line. 
“ My, what a lot of children! ” sighed Betty. “ I 
wonder if they would play with us.” 

John shook his head. “ Mother said we mustn’t 
play with them because they’re not nice.” 

Betty looked rebellious for a minute, and then 
she became thoughtful. ‘‘ Well,” she said at last, 
“ they’ll have to be savages, then.” And she 
smiled again as if that settled the problem. 

Just then a troop of boys came up the street on 
their way home to lunch from school. The boys 
spied the strange children. They halted at the gate 
and looked up. One youngster of ten made an 
ugly face. “ Fatty! ” he called up, teasingly. 

Now Betty was very sensitive about her dimples. 
In every other respect she considered herself a reg- 
ular boy, and she could not see why an otherwise 
kindly Providence should have tormented her by 
giving her such unmanly possessions. Plump, 
Betty sadly admitted that she was, always adding 
that every bit of it was muscle. But fat she was 
not, and would not permit herself to be so called. 

The boy repeated the taunt. “Fatty Felix!” 
he called. 

Betty’s eyes sparkled with anger. She scram- 
bled down out of the tree and approached the gate, 

i6 


JOHN AND BETTY 

while the less warlike John followed more slowly. 
“ I am not,” said Betty firmly. “ You’re a fib.” 

“ I am not, and you are so.” 

The little girl pulled the gate open, righteous 
wrath shining in her eyes. “You call me names 
again and I’ll slap you,” she said. 

The boy stood silent, a little surprised at finding 
resistance in a girl. But his companions began to 
laugh at him, and call him “ scare cat.” After all 
the little girl was smaller than he. He came a step 
or two inside the gate. “ Fatty,” he said, not very 
loud. 

Betty was about to strike, but then she remem- 
bered. It was “ no fair ” fighting unless one was 
hit first. She doubled up her fists and shut her 
teeth hard. “ You just touch me once, and I’ll 
knock you down,” she said. 

The boy was not much afraid. Nothing had 
come of the first threat. He reached out and 
touched Betty gingerly on the arm. The next in- 
stant a firm fist with forty pounds of muscle be- 
hind it landed on his pug nose. The boy dropped 
to the sidewalk, clutching his injured nose and 
howling. Betty glared at the other boys, and they 
drew back respectfully. Presently the injured 
youth rose. There was not a bit of fight left in him. 
Blood streamed down his face, mingling with his 
tears, as he went out the gate and turned toward 

17 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 

home. John gave his sister a look of deep admira- 
tion. “ Do you s’pose he’s hurt much? ” he asked. ' 
Betty looked anxious for just a moment. Then 
she shook her head. “Oh, no; I just made his 
nose bleed. Served him right,” coldly. 

Betty felt that she had done perfectly right, but 
still when she saw the boy, his nose now washed and 
bloodless, but still crying a little, coming down the 
street beside a large fat woman, she retired in haste 
to the orchard back of the house; she felt it was 
wiser to do so. 

The fat woman came in, marched up on the 
porch and rang the bell. Curiosity made Betty 
come back from the orchard and peep around the 
side of the house. Mother opened the door and re- 
garded her visitors with surprise. The woman 
spoke in a very loud voice. “ Yer bye bloodied my 
bye’s nose,” she announced. 

Mother looked shocked. “John!” she called. 
John came in from the garden. “ John,” sternly, 
“ did you hit this little boy? ” 

John hesitated; he was not a tattle-tale. But 
just then Betty bounced around the side of the 
house. She would take her own punishment; John 
should not be falsely accused. “ John didn’t,” she 
said all in one breath. “ I punched him just once 
on the nose, because he called me Fatty Felix and 
hit me on the arm.” 

i8 


JOHN AND BETTY 

Mother looked astonished, as she stared at her 
warlike daughter. “ Why, Betty! ” she gasped. 

But the mother of the victim appeared even 
more surprised. “Well, I niver!” Turning to 
her son, “ Ye spalpeen! Howlin’ because a bit of 
a gurl hit ye. Git along home with ye! ” 

Mother talked very seriously to Betty about how 
little girls ought to be gentle and kind and never 
rough. Usually Betty was very sorry when she 
was scolded, but this time she felt she had been 
right. “ Boys fight when they’re hit,” she pro- 
tested, “ and girls are just as good as boys.” 

Mother sighed and gave it up. Perhaps, too, it 
would be wrong to break the child’s independent 
spirit. But she warned Betty that she must not 
fight again. 


19 


CHAPTER II 


SUNDAY SCHOOL 

“What beautiful curls!” said a soft voice. 

John and Betty were playing just outside the 
garden fence that Saturday morning. They were 
trying to see which could get back and forth over 
the fence the quickest. Betty looked up when she 
heard the voice, and she thought she had never be- 
fore seen such a funny little old lady. Above her 
gray hair perched a little black hat with two long 
quills in front. She was very fat, and wore large 
goggle spectacles over her eyes. Betty thought she 
looked just like a big good-natured lady beetle. 

Betty smiled because she always counted every- 
one as a friend, unless she was playing one of her 
pretend games. Then people she met might be 
anything from Captain Kidd to a Bengal tiger. 
The beetle lady smiled, too, and gently patted one 
of the little girl’s soft flaxen curls. “ What is your 
name, dear? ” she asked. 

“ Betty Stamford, and,” sociably, “ this is my 
brother, John Louis Stamford. What’s yours?” 

20 


JOHN AND BETTY 


“ Fm Mrs. Patterson. I teach Sunday School. 
I don’t remember seeing you there.” 

“ What do you do in Sunday School? ” asked 
Betty, for though she had been to church so often 
that her short legs felt stiff and weary at the very 
thought of the high hard seats, Mother had always 
taught the children at home. 

“ You learn all about the Bible,” replied the 
teacher, “ and when you know your lesson well, you 
get pretty pictures. Then we all go on a picnic in 
the summer, and there’s a big entertainment at 
Christmas.” 

The word picnic caught the children’s attention. 
Their eyes sparkled. 

“ Would you like to come? ” asked Mrs. Patter- 
son. 

“ Oh, yes ! ” they chorused. 

And just then Mother came to the door. The 
beetle lady saw her, and went in to ask if the chil- 
dren might go. Mother felt sorry to give up the 
quiet readings from the Bible on Sunday after- 
noons, when she had taught the children the most 
interesting stories in that wonderful Book. But 
John and Betty looked very eager, so she said yes. 

The next morning at a quarter of ten, John and 
Betty, dressed in their Sunday best, set off down 
the street hand in hand. It was half a mile to the 
gray stone church in the town, and they felt very 
21 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 

grown up going all by themselves. J ust inside the 
church door they found Mrs. Patterson. She put 
John in a boy’s class on one side of the Sunday 
School room, and taking Betty to the other side, 
placed her in a class with a lot of little girls. Betty 
did not like that. She stood up very straight and 
said, “ I want to be with John; I’m not a sissy.” 

The little girls all rolled their eyes and looked 
dreadfully shocked. Mrs. Patterson took a pretty 
picture card out of the book she was carrying. 

You can have that, Betty,” she said, “ if you are 
good.” 

Betty looked at the card. It showed angels and 
lambs and doves. She took it and sat down, and 
Mrs. Patterson heaved a sigh of relief. 

“ Let me see,” whispered the little girl beside 
Betty. Betty was not a selfish child, so the card 
went the length of the class. There was a man up 
in front talking, but the little girl could not hear 
much of what he said. She soon lost interest, and 
started an entertaining topic herself. “ When I 
get to Heaven, I’m going to have horses and dogs, 
and calves and goats, and cats and guinea 
pigs ” 

“ S-s-sh! ” said the teacher. 

“ They don’t have animals in Heaven,” whis- 
pered the other little girl. 

“They do so. Look at the picture!” and she 
22 


JOHN AND BETTY 


presented the card as absolute proof. “ Only,” she 
added, “ I hope they don’t have mosquitoes,” and 
she rubbed an itchy place. 

“ S-s-s-sh ! ” said the teacher. 

At last the man finished talking, and Miss Smith 
turned around to her class. Betty watched her 
curiously. She was younger, but almost as funny 
looking as Mrs. Patterson. The little girl won- 
dered if all Sunday School teachers looked queer. 
But no. There was a pretty one right across the 
aisle. 

“ The lesson for to-day,” said Miss Smith, “ is 
the crossing of the Jews into Canaan.” 

“ I like Daniel better,” suggested Betty. 

“Why?” asked Miss Smith, humoring her. 

“ Because there’s lions in it.” 

“ I don’t like lions,” said the smallest tot in the 
class. 

Betty regarded her with disdain. “ A lion would 
eat you all up in one gobble,” she said. 

The little girl whimpered, and the teacher came 
to the rescue. “There aren’t any lions here, 
Gladys,” she said, “ so don’t cry.” 

“ Unless they escaped from the zoo,” added 
Betty darkly. “ Sometimes they do, you know.” 

The timid child wept aloud. “I want my 
mamma! ” 

Miss Smith soothed her, and then turned to 

23 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 

Betty with a frown. “ You mustn’t speak again 
until the end of the class,” she warned. 

Betty sat silent and restless, while the Jews 
traveled slowly into Canaan. But at last she found 
something to distract her attention. Miss Smith 
smiled and something gleamed in her mouth. 
What was it? Betty watched, but the teacher did 
not smile again right away. So Betty tried to 
make her. She curled up the corners of her mouth 
and showed all her dimples in a most engaging 
smile. Miss Smith fairly melted. Perhaps she had 
been too severe with the dear child. So she smiled 
back. 

Betty thrilled. Yes, it was — at least she thought 
it was — a gold tooth right in front. To make sure 
the “ dear child ” smiled again. Miss Smith once 
more responded; it appeared to her a good time to 
coax an apology from the child for her naughtiness. 
“ Why are you smiling, dear? ” she asked. 

Betty appeared embarrassed, but she had been 
trained to be truthful at all costs. “ I wanted to 
make you smile,” she replied. 

The teacher was flattered; a compliment was 
rather rare. “ Why did you want me to smile? ” 
she asked, beaming. 

The child wriggled. Then, “ I wanted to see if 
it is really gold.” 

Instantly all the children’s eyes were riveted on 

24 


JOHN AND BETTY 


the teacher’s mouth. Fortunately at that moment 
the bell rang dismissing Sunday School, and Miss 
Smith escaped. 

The Reverend Mr. Way land, a youthful min- 
ister, made a habit of meeting the pupils at the 
door, speaking to and shaking hands with each one 
of them as they went out. Mr. Way land was a 
handsome, clean-cut young man, and he had not 
given up his athletics through his love of books and 
learning. He had become a minister not to make 
a living, but because he loved to help people, and 
thought that the best way. 

Just outside the door several parents were wait- 
ing to take their children home. Among them Mr. 
Wayland noticed a stranger; a charming young 
woman with curly black hair, brilliant dark eyes, 
and the sweetest mouth in the world. Mrs. Pat- 
terson stood near by. “ Who is she? ” asked Mr. 
Wayland. 

That’s Mrs. Stamford, the mother of the 
dark-haired boy and the little girl with flaxen 
curls.” 

“Is it possible!” regarding John and Betty. 
“ She looks like a girl.” 

“ Married young, I expect,” said Mrs. Patter- 
son, as she greeted another child. 

Betty smiled engagingly at the minister, as she 
did at everyone. Mr. W^ayland felt an impulse to 

25 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 

detain the child. “How do you like Sunday 
School? ” he asked, 

“ It’s all right,” she replied without enthusiasm, 
“ but I don’t like being in a class with little girls; 
they’re afraid of lions.” 

The minister’s eyes twinkled. “ Aren’t you 
afraid of lions? ” 

Betty rubbed her toe against the step. “ Y-yes. 
But I wouldn’t cry even if one was coming after 
me,” firmly. 

“ Wouldn’t you? ” interrupted a small boy, who 
stood beside the minister. There was a note of ad- 
miration in his voice. 

The little girl looked at him critically. He had 
red hair and freckles, but was otherwise quite pre- 
sentable. “ No, I wouldn’t,” she replied. “ Would 
you? ” 

He nodded, and the minister laughed, and put 
his arm around the boy. “ Bobby is no coward,” 
he said, “ or he wouldn’t admit it.” 

Betty had an uncomfortable feeling for a mo- 
ment that there might be a personal application to 
that remark. But Mother was approaching, and 
there was another question she wanted to ask be- 
fore starting home. “ Is Bobby your little boy? ” 
shet inquired. 

The young minister flushed. “ No, he’s my 
brother.” 


JOHN AND BETTY^ 


“ Oh.” Turning to Bobby, “ Then haven’t you 
any father either? ” 

Mr. Wayland’s heart gave a thump of joy. So 
she was a widow. Bobby shook his head. Just 
then a charming voice interrupted. “ I must start 
my children home,” she said. “ They will take up 
your whole morning if you let them.” 

“ Mrs. Stamford, I believe? ” asked the minister, 
and they shook hands. As the church bell sounded, 
“ Do you mind if Bobby goes with them? It will 
help to keep him out of mischief until after serv- 
ice.” 

Mrs. Stamford had her doubts of any advan- 
tages that might be derived by Bobby from her 
children, but she assented readily enough. 

Neither John nor Betty was a bad child. They 
never meant to be naughty — at least hardly ever. 
If Mother told them not to do a thing, she could be 
pretty sure they would not do it. The difficulty 
was to imagine the things the children might do, 
enough ahead of time to forbid them. 

The three children walked in the grass on the 
side of the road so as not to get their good shoes 
dusty. Bobby was evidently a victim of shyness, 
for he kept his gaze fastened on the toes of his 
shoes. Apparently he did not possess the disposi- 
tion that generally goes with red hair and freckles. 

“ How old are you? ” asked John. 

27 


JOHN AND BETTY 


“ Ten, going on eleven.” 

“ I’m eleven, going on twelve,” proudly. 

“ Bobby’s just a baby,” said Betty, loftily. 

“ Why, you’re not ten yourself.” 

Betty tossed her curls. “ I guess I’m just as old 
as you are.” 

“ You are not.” 

“ Am so.” 

“ Are not.” 

Betty changed the conversation. “ Oh, see that 
rabbit run across the road.” The boys looked ea- 
gerly. “ Wouldn’t it be nice to go down to the 
woods? ” 

“ Let’s.” 

“ All right.’" 

Betty was in the habit of sharing everything with 
her brother, even his age, so that she really looked 
down upon Bobby as younger than herself. There 
was only one concession that she made to John. 
He might be leader in every game, if only she were 
his lieutenant, and he did exactly as she told him. 


28 


CHAPTER III 


CAPTAIN KIDD 

It was only a short distance across the fields 
from Mrs. Stamford’s house to the woods. The 
children did not enter by any of the paths that 
gi’own folk used. They climbed a low rail fence, 
and then followed an old cow track across a bit of 
marshy land. This ended at the edge of a muddy 
little stream. The children crossed on a narrow 
plank. The ground on the other side was very soft, 
so they jumped from grassy hillock to hillock to 
keep from getting muddy. Of course they slipped 
a few times, and probably got quite as much mud 
on their shoes as if they had not jumped along so 
carefully. Presently the ground became firmer. 
They pushed their way through a bank of high 
bushes, and came out on a little clearing beside a 
shallow stream. The clearing was surrounded by 
trees and thick bushes. Probably no one had ever 
found the way there before except the children 
and the little wild creatures. 

The clearing was carpeted with what the chil- 
dren called “fairy” grass, because it was soft, sweet 
and emerald green like the finest lawn. On the 
29 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 

other side of the stream wild lady-slippers, honey- 
suckle, and cardinal flowers were in bloom, and 
hundreds of butterflies flashed in and out among 
the gorgeous blossoms. Dragon flies with their 
filmy wings and jewel eyes darted over the clear 
ripples. The children paused a moment to watch. 
“ The butterflies are fairies,” Betty explained, 
“ and the dragon flies are goblins. At night they 
come here to dance. The queen and king sit in the 
fairy ring, and all their court dance around them. 
See, here it is.” And she pointed to one of those 
faint rings marked in the soft grass that one finds 
in distant parts of the woods. Bobby stared at it 
with round eyes. 

“ Let’s have a swing,” proposed the practical 
John. 

The children had found on the edge of the clear- 
ing a half fallen pine tree, that rested on the 
branches of a slender sapling. By climbing clear 
to the top of the pine tree, they could bend it down 
to the ground, but the sapling was so elastic, that 
when they sat astride the tree trunk and pushed 
against the ground with their feet, the top of the 
tree would Sj^ring nearly twenty feet into the air 
before coming down again. It made a wonderful 
seesaw. John and Betty had not told Mother 
about it, however, for they did not want her to feel 
anxious about them. Also they feared she might 
30 


JOHN AND BETTY 


forbid them to use the swing. Of course the old 
pine might break some time, but there were plenty 
of branches of young trees, that they might catch 
and swing down by. They had done it many times 
just for fun. 

When the children had been swinging for about 
ten minutes, Betty had an idea. The morning was 
hot and the water looked invitingly cool. “ Let’s 
play pirates,” she suggested. “ John can be Cap- 
tain Kidd, and I’ll be his lieutenant, and Bobby 
can be an English admiral, who gets captured.” 

As the tree came down to the ground again, the 
children swung their feet over to the same side, and 
all jumped off together, whereupon the pine rose 
in the air. In a moment they had stripped off shoes 
and stockings and were paddling in the cool water. 
Captain Kidd and his able lieutenant constructed a 
pirate fleet from strips of bark, using twigs as 
masts, and large leaves as sails. The English ad- 
miral imitated them. 

The two fleets were lined up on opposite sides of 
the stream, and then were blown across to meet 
each other. The wind was supplied by the leaders’ 
mouths. After an exciting battle the admiral was 
captured. The children paused quite breathless 
and happy. Then John said, “ Now we’ll have to 
lock you in the ship’s hold and keep you for ran- 
som.” 


31 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 

“ All right,” Bobby agreed. Where’s the 
hold? ” 

The children looked doubtful. Then Betty said, 
“ Let’s use the old boat on the duck pond. That 
has a real door that locks.” 

They hung their shoes and stockings about their 
necks, and waded down-stream to a cleared space 
on the opposite side. Here they climbed out upon 
a narrow path leading through the woods. Sud- 
denly Bobby screamed. “ What’s the matter? ” 
demanded John. 

“ Oh, run quick! There’s a snake! ” 

John looked, and saw a big water snake lying 
coiled up beside a rock a few feet away. Its skin 
was covered with diamond shaped patches of cop- 
pery red and yellow, and it was running its wicked 
looking tongue in and out. John felt a little nerv- 
ous when he saw it, but he would not show that he 
was frightened. “What’s a snake!” he said, and 
picked up a stout stick. 

Just then Betty saw something more. A little 
bird was hopping about in the grass in front of the 
snake. It fluttered its wings, but it seemed unable 
to fly away from those glittering eyes that held it. 
“It’s charming the little bird, the horrid thing!” 
cried Betty. And forgetting all about being 
afraid, she snatched up a heavy stone, ran across 
the path and threw it with all her might. 

32 


JOHN AND BETTY 


The snake writhed in pain, and turned away 
from the bird. He wriggled toward the little girl, 
but John had followed, and with a few hard blows 
of his club he finished that snake’s bird-killing days. 
Meantime the little bird hopped feebly for a few 
feet, as if astonished that it was not seized and 
eaten. Then suddenly it spread its wings and 
found it could fly. It fluttered up into a big tree 
over the path, and in a few moments the children 
heard him begin to whistle his great thankfulness to 
be alive. They listened. “ Oh, isn’t he glad! ” said 
Betty, smiling. 

As the children went on through the woods, 
Bobby felt very much ashamed, because he had 
been so afraid of the snake, when the others were 
so brave. He made up his mind he would never be 
afraid of anything again; at least he would not 
show it. 

In a short time the children came out on the edge 
of a pond. It was called the duck pond, because 
the wild geese and ducks stopped there to feed on 
their way north and south. Hardly anyone ever 
went there, except a few hunters, so that the chil- 
dren felt as if they quite owned it. 

^ They loved to come down early in the morning 
before even the farmers were up. Before five 
o’clock all the misty world seemed their own. 
Diamond drops of dew still lay among the grasses, 
33 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 


and across the dim, gray lake sounded the wild 
notes of the mourning doves. The cries had 
worried Betty, until at last she saw one of the lit- 
tle gray birds in the woods. It looked so very 
harmless and cheerful, that the little girl decided 
the dove did not really mean all it said. 

At five o’clock the catfish were still holding so- 
cial gatherings on the surface of the water, and dis- 
cussing the latest news in low bubbling tones. 
Betty did not like catfish. At first she would not 
keep those she caught. Their black color, tentacles 
and slate blue eyes gave them too terrible an as- 
pect. Ordinary fish did not look at one, but a cat- 
fish would stare anybody out of countenance. 
Betty always felt that their glare was wickedly 
disapproving. 

The children always enjoyed the frog chorus, 
from the drumlike brrrum, brrrum, brrrum, of 
the old basso, to the high squeak of the young- 
sters. The sound seemed cheerful and companion- 
able. 

With the first ray of sunlight, the children would 
throw out their lines. In a moment the fishes were 
up, wakened by the light, and looking for break- 
fast. Juicy worms never failed to appeal to them, 
and soon the young fishermen had captured all 
they needed for breakfast. Yellow Neds and sun- 
fish were the favorites, for they were tender and 
34 


JOHN AND BETTY 

sweet. Black bass and pickerel had to be thrown 
back, unless they were a foot long or over. 

On the near side of the pond an old launch was 
drawn up on the sandy bank. It was the children’s 
dearest possession, though it was part full of water 
and nearly covered with water spiders. John and 
Betty climbed aboard, and Bobby, after a mo- 
ment’s hesitation, followed, ashamed ’ to seem 
afraid. 

The windows to the cabin of the boat had been 
boarded up, and the door was fastened with a bolt. 
J ohn pulled back the bolt with some difficulty, and 
opened the door. “ There! Doesn’t that make a 
fine prison? ” he asked with pride. 

The floor of the cabin was raised a little higher 
than the deck, so that it was comparatively dry. 
Still Bobby did not feel very enthusiastic as he en- 
tered. Betty picked up a small water turtle that 
was trying to climb aboard. “ Here,” she said, of- 
fering it, “ prisoners always have pets, you know. 
It will have to do instead of a rat.” 

Bobby accepted the creature reluctantly. He 
and the turtle seemed to regard each other with 
mutual suspicion. “ There are plenty of spiders,” 
said John, looking around with satisfaction. 
“You always have to have spiders, and these save 
us having to catch some for you.” 

The idea of pets for the prisoner became very 
35 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 

attractive to his captors, and they searched about 
diligently for small animals with which he could 
pass the long hours of solitude. John thought a 
tame snake would be appropriate, but since their 
experience had been with a very nasty tempered 
one, they were inclined to be shy of reptiles. 

“ Why couldn’t he be like the ‘ Man in the Iron 
Mask ’? ” suggested Betty. 

“ Well,” said John, “ we haven’t any iron here, 
and the only thing we have at home is that mask 
I used last Hallowe’en.” 

“ That won’t do,’^ she objected. “ We can’t 
spend all that time going home. Let’s make 
one.” 

“ How? ” discouragingly. 

“Not out of iron, of course. But we left some 
brown paper in the locker, and my box of paints is 
there, too. I was going to make some pictures to 
hang up.” 

Betty took the paper and paint out of the locker, 
and John cut a piece the right size for Bobby’s 
face. With his pocket knife, he also made open- 
ings for eyes, nose and mouth. Then Betty 
colored the mask black, since all the iron she had 
seen was that shade. But with true artistic feel- 
ing, she finished off the holes for eyes, mouth and 
nose with scarlet rings. The water colors dried 
quickly, and then John tied the mask upon the 
36 


JOHN AND BETTI 


prisoner with a piece of string. Bobby’s cap was 
turned inside out, and put on backward. 

“Doesn’t he look awful?” said Betty delight- 
edly. 

But John was busy recalling all the stories of 
prisoners that he knew. Since they had already 
taken so much trouble, they might as well make it 
a perfect piece of work. “ Prisoners are always 
sending out messages for help,” he declared. 
“ You’ll have to tear off pieces of the paper that’s 
left, and write on ’em, ‘ I am the true king falsely 
imprisoned by my wicked uncle,’ ‘ Rescue me,’ and 
all that sort of thing. Here’s a pencil,” and he 
held forth a very stubby specimen. 

“ Generally, they scratch it on the bottom of 
their dinner plates, and throw ’em out the win- 
dow,” objected his sister. 

“ Well, we haven’t any plates, so he’ll have to 
use the paper,” decided John. “ He can throw it 
out the window just the same. And, Bobby,” 
stooping to pick up a rusty nail, “ you’ll have to 
write the story of your wrongs on the stones of 
your cell. They all do.” 

The prisoner accepted the nail reluctantly, and 
tried it on a plank. The result was not at all legi- 
ble. “ I guess it would take a year to write with 
that,” he declared. 

“ You might be shut up for twenty years, you 
37 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 

know, if you weren’t ransomed,” replied his cap- 
tor cheerfully. 

“ But not really,” anxiously. “ I’ve got to get 
home for supper.” 

John fell from the realms of imagination. 
“ Well,” he conceded, “ you can use the pencil, 
and make believe it’s a nail.” 

“ All right,” agreed Bobby, but his expression 
behind the mask indicated that the life of a pris- 
oner did not impress him as one of unalloyed joy. 

“ Now we’ll go collect your ransom,” said Betty. 

“ Please don’t be long,” requested Bobby anx- 
iously, as the door was closed and bolted. 

“ All right,” said John. 

The children meant to be gone about five min- 
utes, but they saw a rabbit, and followed it to dis- 
cover where it was going, Betty having high hopes 
that there might be baby bunnies. However, they 
lost it at the edge of a field. Here they sat on the 
fence to put on their shoes and stockings. Betty 
had hardly fastened the last buckle, when she spied 
a big yellow cat in the field. Now Betty had al- 
ways longed to own a yellow cat, and she hardly 
thought this one could belong to anybody, when it 
was way out in the fields like this. So she started 
in pursuit, and John with her. 

The cat was scary and led them a long chase. At 
last they lost it in the field just back of their own 
38 


JOHN AND BETTY 


orchard. They paused, hot and weary. Then they 
heard their mother calling: “ John! Betty! Come 
to dinner! ” 

The children suddenly realized that they were 
completely starved. With a bound they were over 
the fence and running through the orchard. 

“ What ever were you children doing? ” asked 
Mother. 

“We were chasing a cat,” said John, 

“ It was yellow,” added Betty. 

In the meantime, Bobby made advances toward 
the turtle, but it had no appreciation of the duties 
of a prisoner’s pet. Instead of sitting on his knee 
and nibbling his finger in the approved fashion, it 
crawled under the locker and hid. When Bobby 
hauled the turtle forth again, it drew in its head, 
legs and tiny tail as if terrified. The little boy 
thought that perhaps it was the mask which had 
so upset the small creature, but since the mask was 
iron, he could not well remove it without upsetting 
all the make-believes. 

Bobby next tried his hand at writing. Several 
piteous pleas were thrown out the small port-hole 
window on imaginary plates. But each was caught 
by the pitiless waves, and went dancing out on the 
water, to surprise the spiders and bugs, some of 
which climbed aboard and took a ride. The 
prisoner now hunted about his cell. In a corner he 
39 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 

found two or three small pebbles. He wrote an- 
other message, wrapped it about a pebble, 
stretched his arm as far out the window as he could, 
and threw the small missive toward shore. It 
landed on the sand. 

When the stones were exhausted, the prisoner 
set himself to make the wall inscription. J ohn and 
Bett:^ should be back any minute now, and he did 
not wish to incur the criticism of his jailers 
through not having done the proper things. On a 
fairly smooth plank, Bobby drew a lopsided skull 
and cross bones. Beneath it he wrote, “ I am the 
trew son of Loois Xlllth, and the Dawfin of 
f ranee.” 

For a moment he admired his effort. Then he 
set himself to ornamenting the capitals. This 
finally accomplished, Bobby began to feel hungry. 
His jailers had been gone a long time. He looked 
out of the port-hole, but could see nothing of them. 
The ransom must have been difficult to collect. 

For a while the prisoner amused himself by 
watching the fish, that occasionally broke the sur- 
face of the water, and the glittering dragon flies, 
which darted back and forth. A minnow rose and 
tasted one of the imaginary plates that had been 
thrown over. It did not like the flavor, and 
promptly swam away in search of other food. A 
big snapping turtle, a forty-pounder, swam lazily 
40 


JOHN AND BETTI 


alongside, and seemed to fall asleep with its nose 
just out of water. Bobby dropped a bit of wood 
beside it. Instantly the turtle dived, and vanished 
in a swirl of water. The boy laughed. 

Then the boy noticed that it was getting really 
late. The long afternoon had passed. Even sup- 
per time was gone, and the red sun was just sink- 
ing beyond the hills. Already the shadows were 
lengthening in the woods, while the sunset still 
gleamed red on the lake. The breeze that comes 
with evening was ruffling the surface of the water 
into jeweled wavelets. Anxiously Bobby stared 
up the darkening path among the trees. No one 
was in sight. Had his jailers forgotten him, or 
had some dreadful accident befallen them? They 
might have drowned in the lake, sunk in a bog, 
been kidnapped by gypsies or a tramp. 

The little boy shivered. A chill mist was rising 
from the water. Paramount in his mind was the 
feeling that he must escape, and find out what had 
become of his playmates. First he tried the win- 
dow, but it was too small to permit his shoulders to 
pass through. The casing was strong, and he 
could not tear it away to make a larger opening. 
Bobby pushed against the door, then kicked it 
furiously, but the bolt held firm. The harder the 
prisoner tried to escape, the more frightened he be- 
came. Frightful imaginings rose up in his mind. 

41 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 

Suppose the boat should fill with water, and sink, 
when he could not get out. He had not noticed 
how close the bank was beneath it, and it was too 
dark to see now. Frantically, he flung himself 
against the door. It shook but did not give. 

Then Bobby rushed to the window, and 
screamed. At first his voice quavered, and would 
not carry, but presently it deepened into a sturdy 
shout. “Help, help, help!” he cried. “Help, 
help, help ! ” the hills answered back, but there was 
no human reply. 

The boy tried again and again. At last, as he 
was resting to get back his breath, a cheerful 
whistle, accompanied by the rustle of bare feet, 
sounded on the woodland path. A farmer boy was 
coming down catfishing. Bobby gave a gasp of 
relief, and rushed to the window. He would be 
free at last. The prisoner thrust his head through 
the window, and turned it toward shore. “ Help! ” 
he shouted. 

There was just enough twilight left, so that the 
farmer’s boy could see the apparition: a terrible, 
featureless, black face, with red rings for eyes, 
nose and mouth. With a breathless “ Jiminy crick- 
ets ! ” the boy had dropped his bait can and fled, 
his fishing forgotten. Too late Bobby remem- 
bered the mask, and jerked it off. The woods were 
bare of all human life but his own. No reply came 
42 


JOHN AND BETTI 


back to his shouts but the distant hoot of a quest- 
ing owl, the chorus of the frogs, and the soft lap, 
lap of the water against the boat. No one came to 
investigate the strange thing that the farmer’s boy 
had seen, for he did not tell of it. He did not want 
to be laughed at. In his own mind he was con- 
vinced that he had seen the ghost of Jimmy Dun- 
can, who had been drowned in the pond two years 
before. 

After John and Betty had had their dinner. 
Mother redressed the children, and took them to 
the city to see their Aunt Bessie. They had a 
lovely time. Aunt Bessie had a wonderful attic 
full of quaint old toys. There were real wax dolls, 
that one mustn’t hug too hard, because they got 
soft, little horses and carriages, puzzles and games 
of all kinds, and best of all a hobby horse as large 
as a real pony, that jumped and bucked on springs 
like a western broncho, when one rode him. J ohn 
and Betty were so happy and busy that they did 
not think once of poor Bobby waiting for them 
to come back. 

Aunt Bessie made them stay for supper, and 
they had cake and ice-cream for dessert; all they 
could eat of it. 

It was after dark when they finally got home. 
They found Mr. Wayland sitting on the front 
porch. Mother looked very much surprised to see 
43 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 


him there. He rose and took off his hat. His face 
looked very anxious. “ I can’t find Bobby,” he 
said; “ he’s been gone all day. And I thought per- 
haps John and Betty might have some idea where 
he could be.” 

The children suddenly remembered. ‘‘ Oh, poor 
Bobby! ” cried Betty. 

“ He isn’t — ^hurt? ” asked Mr. Wayland. 

“ Oh, no. You see John was Captain Kidd and 
I was his lieutenant. And we captured the Eng- 
lish admiral, and shut him up while we got the ran- 
som.” 

“ Pirates do,” interrupted John. 

“ And then we forgot all about him. Oh, let’s 
hurry and let him out. He must be dreadfully 
frightened.” 

A few minutes later the whole party, Mr. Way- 
land and J ohn in the lead with an oil lantern that 
Mother supplied from the house, were hurrying 
across the fields. John took them the long way 
round to the pond, because he did not think that 
Mother would be very good at wading in her long 
skirts. Mother shuddered when she saw the old 
boat. “ Poor child ! ” she murmured. 

Mr. Wayland jerked back the bolt and flung 
open the door. A forlorn little figure rushed into 
his arms. “ Oh, Pete! ” cried Bobby. 

The minister hugged him up close, but presently 
44 


JOHN AND BETTY, 


Bobby raised his head and looked around. He saw 
John and Betty standing on the bank looking very 
sorry. He smiled. “ I wasn’t scared,” said Bobby, 
but with a little quiver in his voice. “ I didn’t cry 
— hardly at all.” 

“ I think you’re awfully brave,” said Betty. 
“ I’d have cried — ^buckets.” 


45 


CHAPTER IV 


THE FAIRIES 

The children had sought the coolness of the 
woods that hot July afternoon. They sat on the 
green bank dabbling their bare feet in the water. 
John and Betty looked aggrieved, and Bobby’s ex- 
pression was in sympathy with theirs. “ It’s really 
too bad!” Betty finally burst out. ‘‘I don’t see 
why Uncle John had to forget our birthdays just 
when we needed the money more than we ever did 
before.” 

John and Betty had both been born on the third 
of July. As Betty used to explain it, they were 
twins, only two years apart. Uncle John had al- 
ways been in the habit of sending them each a dol- 
lar bill on their birthday, but this year he was tak- 
ing a very delightful vacation up in the mountains, 
and had forgotten all about it. The children had 
been counting on the money for firecrackers, as 
Mother could not afford to buy them things this 
year, and they were deeply disappointed when the 
expected letter did not arrive. Mother had given 
them each ten cents, before she went in to the office 
46 


JOHN AND BETTY 

in the city, where she was busy every clay now earn- 
ing money to buy food for two hungry young 
mouths. But twenty cents would provide a Fourth 
of July celebration not at all in keeping with the 
children’s ideas of patriotism. 

“ Uncle John might have remembered this 
once!” Betty complained. 

John grunted. He was of a philosophical na- 
ture that takes life as it comes, good or bad. 

“ You can help me shoot off my firecrackers,” 
Bobby offered generously. 

Betty’s face brightened a moment and then 
darkened again. “ It isn’t the same thing,” she 
said gloomily. Her glance traveled sadly over the 
sunny little glade. She no longer heard the cheer- 
ful whistling of the birds, or noticed the gay but- 
terflies. Mechanically her eyes rested on the fairy 
circle in the grass. Suddenly she started, and her 
eyes brightened. “ Let’s ask the fairies,” she said. 
“ You know, if you stand in the middle of a fairy 
ring and wish, it always comes true. But you have 
to wish very hard.” 

“ Do you suppose it would really work? ” asked 
John doubtfully. 

“ Well, we could try it, and see.” 

“ Yes,” he admitted, “ I suppose we could.” 

Bobby had listened anxiously. To his church- 
bred mind, asking the fairies seemed very much like 

47 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 

some sort of heathen rite. “ Wouldn’t it be better 
to pray for it? ” he asked. 

John shook his head. “ No, I’ve tried that, and 
it didn’t work. I prayed for three weeks for a new 
fishing-rod, and didn’t even get the string.” 

“ Mamina says we ought only to pray for things 
we really need, and then we would get them,” said 
Betty. 

John frowned judicially. “ Well, I guess we 
don’t really need firecrackers. We just want 
them. So we’d better ask the fairies.” 

John and Betty stood in the middle of the fairy 
ring, and wished and wished just as hard as ever 
they could for nearly five minutes. As they 
stepped out again, being careful not to step on the 
edge, John said, “ I guess there couldn’t anybody 
have wished harder than I did.” He spoke in a 
tone of satisfaction. 

“ I wished just as hard,” replied Betty. 

They sat down on the bank again quite cheer- 
fully, and began planning what they would buy, 
just as if it was all settled. But presently Betty 
grew restless. “ Let’s explore,” she suggested. 
“ We’ve never been to the top of the stream. 
There might be all kinds of things there.” 

John sat still. “ I’m too hot,” he said. “ But 
you can go by yourself, and then tell us about 
it.” 


48 


JOHN AND BETTY 

The little girl hesitated a moment. Exploring 
alone was not quite so much fun. 

“ I’ll go along, if you want me to,” offered 
Bobby, but without enthusiasm. 

“ Oh, no, you needn’t,” replied Betty, beginning 
to tie her shoes around her neck with her stockings. 
“And you needn’t wait for me to come back. 
Maybe it goes miles and miles.” Turning to John, 
“And you look after Bobby, and see he doesn’t get 
into trouble.” 

Bobby wriggled uncomfortably. “ I wish you 
wouldn’t always fuss over me so,” he com- 
plained. 

“ Well, we promised Mr. Wayland we’d always 
take good care of you,” John explained, “ so we 
have to.” Then to his sister, “And you’d better be 
careful and not get hurt. I don’t know if you 
ought to go by yourself.” 

Betty tossed her curls independently. “ I’m a 
whole year older now,” she said. “ I’ll be all 
right,” and she started wading up-stream. 

In places the water rose over the little girl’s 
knees, and she had to be careful not to step into 
even deeper holes. She walked as fast as she 
could, splashing a lot to keep herself company, 
until she came to a part of the stream where she 
had never been before. Then she moved softly, 
watching for any of the little wild creatures that 
49 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 

she might surprise. The brook had grown nar- 
rower and rather shallow now, and its bed was soft 
and muddy. Betty thought it felt rather like walk- 
ing through a pan of dough. 

Presently, as the little girl scrambled over a 
fallen log, and turned a corner in the stream, she 
came upon one of the most beautiful things she had 
ever seen. Straight ahead the brook divided and 
ran on either side of a small island. The island 
was just covered with wild roses in full bloom. 
Betty thought it looked like a huge pink bouquet, 
that some giant had dropped into the water. Then 
she caught a flash of flying gold, and an oriole van- 
ished among the rose-bushes. The little girl stole 
up softly, and peered through the branches. There 
in the sun-dappled shade was a nest. The mother 
oriole was perched on the very edge, and three 
babies were crying for their dinner. Betty stood 
so still that she looked just like a tree stump to the 
little bird. Mother Oriole perked her golden head 
first on one side and then on the other. Then she 
leaned forward, and poked the delicious bug she 
had brought down the nearest baby’s neck. The 
other two babies shrieked aloud, because they did 
not get any. The baby who was fed gulped down 
the bug, then he opened his mouth as wide as ever, 
and shrieked too. 

With a flutter of brilliant wings the mother was 

50 


JOHN AND BETTY 


gone, but in a moment she had returned with an- 
other bug, and the whole performance was repeated 
with another baby. Betty watched the little bird 
bring nearly a dozen worms and insects to her rav- 
enous children, and when she had finished they still 
cried as if they had not had a single bite. Mother 
Oriole sat down on the edge of the nest to get back 
her breath, and Betty thought she looked at her 
babies as if she wondered where ever they put all 
that good food. 

“ If I had babies like that,” Betty told her, “ I’d 
make them work and help get their dinner.” 

Mother Oriole started so she nearly fell off the 
nest. She turned her head, and her bright dark 
eye looked straight at Betty. “ Merciful heavens! 
A human monster come to eat her helpless chil- 
dren!” She trembled with fear, but she spread 
out her wings and fluffed up her feathers to make 
herself look bigger, and she twittered scoldingly. 

Betty understood. “ I wouldn’t hurt your 
babies for the world,” she said softly. ‘‘ Good- 
bye, Mrs. Oriole.” And she waded gently away. 
A little way up the stream, she heard Mother Ori- 
ole begin to sing joyfully, as she set out once more 
to hunt for food for her miraculously saved chil- 
dren. 

Betty saw many strange birds now, as she moved 
deeper into the marsh-land. A long-legged crane 

51 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 

flapped lazily overhead. There were gray turtle- 
doves with their mournful call, and funny little 
speckled birds with pearl gray vests, on the banks, 
who looked as if they were always dancing to some 
imaginary hurdy-gurdy, as they bobbed and curt- 
sied. Then there were kingfishers, diving into the 
water to bring up a wriggling minnow, and wood- 
thrushes with their sweet, shy song, and now and 
then a scarlet cardinal making a splash of brilliant 
color against the green of the woods. 

And all about were thousands of gorgeous but- 
terflies, from the great gold, purple and black fel- 
lows, sunning themselves in lazy vanity, to the 
dainty pale yellow ones, fluttering by hundreds 
from flower to flower. The little girl stopped to 
watch them. She thought they looked like thou- 
sands of flowers themselves, freed from stalks and 
leaves. 

Presently Betty started to move on, and she 
found that her feet had sunk in the mud up to the 
ankle. She could hardly pull them out, and they 
sank again at once, wherever she set them. She 
was naturally a brave child, but she looked about 
anxiously now. All about her stretched marsh- 
land, and the child, who had felt so well accom- 
panied by the birds and butterflies, was suddenly 
lonely. The stream had become a mere shallow 
trickle through the mud, which extended every- 

52 


JOHN AND BETTY 


where. But no, there to the left was a narrow 
tongue of land with larger bushes on it, and it 
looked fairly solid. In terror of the mud, which 
was slowly creeping above her ankles, Betty 
plunged toward the firmer ground. 

A tremendous effort was required for each step, 
and she sank deeper at every movement. But still 
she struggled on. It was not possible that she 
should have to die in the midst of all the flowers and 
sunshine. She dared not stop. She was only a 
few feet from safety, when she found she could not 
take another step; the mud held her fast. Then 
for the first time in her life real terror came, and she 
began to scream. 

Betty screamed and screamed, and blinding tears 
ran down her face, and all the time she was con- 
scious of the awful sucking tug of the mud. It 
seemed ages later, when she heard a rough voice 
shouting, “ Here, stop that row! ” 

Betty looked up, gasping with weariness, and 
saw a big boy coming out along the tongue of land. 
He carried a shotgun under one arm, and Betty 
knew him at once. He was Dan Wilson, the bad 
boy of the little town, who was always held up as a 
dreadful example to all the good boys. Dan 
played hooky, and did as he pleased. Betty had 
always secretly admired him as he swaggered past 
in his old clothes, though she had never ventured to 
53 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 

speak to him. Ten years old has a great respect 
for thirteen. 

Dan came out to the end of the firm ground, and 
tested the mud beyond, but drew back, shaking his 
head. Betty watched anxiously. “ Lie down flat 
on the mud, and stretch out your hands to me,” 
commanded the boy. 

Betty obeyed without an instant’s hesitation, and 
at the same time Dan spread himself on the mud, 
pointing toward her, after catching his toes firmly 
in the roots of a large bush. Still he could not 
quite reach the child. So he unbuckled his belt, 
and tossed her the end of it. Betty seized hold 
tight. “ Now keep perfectly still,” warned Dan. 
And taking a good grip with his toes, he pulled 
with all his might. 

Very slowly and reluctantly the mud let go of 
Betty, and at last the boy dragged her up on the 
solid bank. Both children had to sit down and 
rest, for they were worn out with the struggle. 
Bettj^ thought that Dan, mud and all, was the 
nicest boy she had ever seen — except, of course, 
John. He looked down at her and smiled. 
“ Thank you ever so much for pulling me out,” said 
Betty, and she kissed him frankly. 

Dan blushed underneath the mud, and rose 
abruptly. “ That’s nothin’,” he growled. But he 
did not look cross. 


54 


JOHN AND BETTY. 

When Betty had rested a little while, the chil- 
dren started home. They stopped at the first clear 
stream and washed the mud from their faces and 
hands; that made them feel a little more respect- 
able. It was after sunset when they came in sight 
of Betty’s home. They approached across the field 
toward the orchard at the back, for the little girl 
felt she was hardly sufficiently spick and span to 
meet company, if there should chance to be any. 
At the edge of the orchard Dan stopped. “ Good- 
bye,” he said. “ I guess I’ll go on home now.” 

But Betty would not hear of that. She seized 
his hand and pulled him firmly toward the house. 
“ You’ve got to come in and be properly thanked,” 
she insisted. 

As the kitchen door swung open, Mother looked 
up relievedly. So Betty was home at last, just in 
time for supper. But the next instant, she caught 
sight of two pitch black figures. Mother forgot 
all about the chops broiling on the fire, as her small 
daughter dragged the reluctant and muddy hero in. 
“ What ever has happened to you? ” cried Mother. 

Betty kept firm hold of Dan’s sleeve, and spoke 
all in one breath. “ I was drowning in the swamp, 
and I screamed and screamed, and Dan came, and 
he lay down on the mud, and I lay on the mud, and 
he pulled me out — with his feet in a bush, and I 
made him come in to be thanked, because I was half 
55 


JOHN AND BETTY 

drowned, and I’d been all drowned by now, if he 
hadn’t.” 

Mother gasped. Then she hugged both the chil- 
dren, mud and all. It was only when a great siz- 
zling began that she remembered the chops, and 
saved them just in time. Mother made Dan stay 
to supper, and she gave him some of John’s things 
to wear, while she cleaned the mud off his own 
clothes. Betty could not help giggling because 
Dan looked so funny with John’s blouse pulled 
tight around him, and the sleeves climbing half- 
way up his long arms. 

That night John and Betty left their purses on 
the bureau, where the fairies could not fail to see 
them, when they came. 


56 


CHAPTER V 


THE GLORIOUS FOURTH 

The Fourth of July dawned clear and bright, 
and the children bounced out of bed with the first 
firecracker, and ran to see what the fairies had 
brought. There lay the purses still on the bureau, 
as flat and empty as they had been the night before. 
There was not a firecracker in sight; not even a 
penny lay on the floor. The children searched 
thoroughly. 

John rose and dusted off the knees of his pa- 
jamas; he looked very much disgusted. “ I guess 
it’s not true about the fairies giving you what you 
wish for,” he said. 

His sister nodded sadly. “ But maybe we really 
didn’t wish quite hard enough.” 

John did not argue. “ Well, anyway, we didn’t 
get it.” 

There was no denying that, so Betty was silent. 

John and Betty took the firecrackers they had 
bought with their twenty cents, and went over to 
Bobby Way land’s, where they set them off, one at 
a time to make them last longer. Then they 
57 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 

helped Bobby get rid of his supply. Still, when 
they came home to dinner, they felt that much was 
lacking to the enjoyment of the day. 

After dinner. Mother went in to the city to see 
Aunt Bessie. She did not take the children, for 
Aunt Bessie was not very well. John and Betty 
promised to be very good until Mother came back. 
They sat on the front steps, and Betty told stories. 
John enjoyed her stories very much, because he 
was always the hero. If John had really done all 
the things Betty let him do in her stories, he would 
have been a young Samson and Jack the Giant 
Killer rolled into one. 

John was right in the middle of a really thrilling 
battle with a Bengal tiger in the depths of India, 
who was in the habit of eating little native boys for 
dinner, when Betty suddenly stopped. “ What 
happened next? ” asked John breathlessly. 

But Betty did not reply. She was staring at the 
path straight in front of her. Then she pointed. 
“ Look, John,” she said, “ the fairies didn’t forget 
after all. We just didn’t look in the right place. 
Maybe, being wood fairies, they don’t like to come 
into houses.” 

John forgot all about the tiger, and looked with 
keen interest. Lying on the path before them was 
a small yellowish coin. The boy’s face fell. “ It’s 
only a penny,” he said, but he picked it up. 

58 


JOHN AND BETTY 

Betty looked. “ It looks like my gold ring# I 
think it’s fairy gold.” 

John turned it over, and then his eyes opened 
wide in astonishment. He spoke in an awed whis- 
per. “ It’s a five-dollar gold piece! ” 

It did not occur to the children to wonder how 
wood fairies could coin five-dollar gold pieces in 
American money. Fairies could do anything, of 
course, but the generosity of the “ Little People ” 
fairly took the children’s breath away. And the 
money must have been meant for them, since it had 
been left on their garden path right in front of their 
porch. 

J ohn and Betty ran to the little shop in the vil- 
lage. The old lady, who kept it, was very much 
surprised when the children laid a gold piece on the 
counter and asked for that much in fireworks, but 
she gave them what they wanted, after she rang the 
piece on the counter to see if it was good. 

The children bought cap pistols, and boxes and 
boxes of caps. They got big firecrackers, middle- 
sized ones, and strings of little ones, that you could 
set off all together. They bought pin-wheels, tor- 
pedoes, fountains, and cones that snakes wiggled 
out of when the fire had all come out. Dan came in 
while they were there, and they loaded him up with 
a whole armful of the things for himself. Then 
they got a lot of sparklers, punk to light the things 
59 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 

with, and a big box of red, white and blue candy 
canes. They had all they could carry when they 
started for Bobby Wayland’s, for they had decided 
that since he had been so generous with his things 
in the morning, he should have the pleasure of help- 
ing them fire off theirs that afternoon. 

Bobby was swinging lazily in a hammock under 
the trees when his friends hailed him. ‘‘Look!” 
cried Betty. “ The fairies did remember after 
all!” 

Bobby jumped out of the hammock and stared 
with all his eyes, while the things were dumped on 
the grass. Then he sighed. “ I wish I’d wished 
too,” he said. 

Betty smiled. “ You can have all of them you 
want,” she said; “ can’t he, John? ” 

John was absorbedly lighting a piece of punk, 
and blowing on it to make it glow brightly. He 
nodded his head and grunted, without looking up. 

Bobby suddenly beamed very brightly. “ That’s 
dandy! ” he said. 

A minute later Peter Wayland’s housekeeper 
clapped her hands over her ears. “ My goodness ! ” 
she said to Peter, who was writing his next Sun- 
day’s sermon. “ If them children ain’t gone and 
got some more o’ them firecrackers! They’ll be 
the death o’ me yet ! ” 

Peter just smiled and went on writing. 

6o 


JOHN AND BETTY 

John and Betty were quite tired out when they 
reached home that evening. It had been tlie grand- 
est and most glorious Fourth they had ever had. 
Mother had come home and was just getting sup- 
per. The children trooped out to the kitchen, and 
sniffed the air inquisitively. They were hungry in 
spite of all the candy canes they had eaten. “ What 
is it? ” asked Betty. 

“ Turn-overs to catch meddlers,” replied Mother 
smiling. “ Did you have a nice time this after- 
noon? ” 

“ H’m, h’m. Oh, I know what it is; chocolate 
pudding! ” 

Mother laughed. “ Draw up the chairs, children, 
and we’ll have supper.” 

They obeyed quickly. 

During the meal they talked very little. In fact 
they were so sleepy that they could hardly hold up 
their heads until the last spoonful of pudding went 
down. Mother sent the children straight to bed 
after supper, and for once there was no protest; 
they were glad to tumble in. 

After Mother turned out the lights and went 
down-stairs, John raised his head from the pillow, 
and gave a great yawn. He faced toward Betty’s 
door and called, “ Wasn’t it great to-day? ” 

“ H’m, h’m,” murmured Betty drowsily. And 
in a moment they were both fast asleep. 

6i 


CHAPTER VI 


BUSINESS AND THE KING OF ENGLAND 

The next morning the children were up early, 
since they had gone to bed so soon the night before. 
They were both watching the orchard eagerly now 
to see what the warm sun would ripen first. They 
ran out to look this morning, and found that little 
soft places were coming in the yellow peaches, and 
a tree of early apples had flushed red. Betty 
picked an apron full of apples, because she thought 
they would be nice for sauce, even if they were not 
quite ripe enough to be sweet when eaten raw. 

The children were just starting in, when 
Mother called John. Breakfast was nearly ready, 
but the sugar was short, and she wanted him to run 
to the little store at the end of the street and buy a 
pound. John ran up-stairs for Mother’s purse, and 
brought it down. Mother opened it, and felt in- 
side. Then she turned it upside down and shook. 
Nothing came out except a key and a railroad 
ticket. 

“Are you sure you didn’t spill anything out?’’ 
asked Mother. 

John shook his head. “ I didn’t open it.” 

62 


JOHN AND BETTY 


Mother looked anxious. “ Then I must have 
dropped it somewhere. I do hope it isn’t lost.” 

“What is it?” asked Betty, beginning to look 
around on the floor. 

“ There were flve dollars in the purse.” 

Betty pictured flve dollars as a green bill with 
fives on it. 

“ Did jmu children see it? ” asked Mother. 

Betty shook her head, but John looked thought- 
ful. “ There was a gold piece the fairies left in the 
garden,” he said. “ We’d wished for it in the wish- 
ing ring.” 

Mother laughed. “ That must have been it. I 
suppose I dropped it, when I was starting for 
Aunt Bessie’s yesterday. I’m so glad you found 
it, John. I don’t know how I would have managed 
without it.” 

The children appeared anxious at that. John 
looked at Betty, and Betty looked at J ohn. J ohn 
licked his lips as if they felt dry. “ We thought 
the fairies brought it, because it was gold and out 
in the garden, and we’d asked them,” he said. 
“And we spent it for Fourth of July.” 

Mother turned rather pale. “All of it? ” she 
asked. 

He nodded. 

Mother did not scold, because sHe saw the chil- 
dren had not meant to do anything wrong, but she 

63 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 

was very thoughtful for a few minutes. “ Well,” 
she said at last, “ it will be four days before my 
next salary comes in. I don’t suppose we can 
really starve to death in that time. There’s some 
mush for breakfast, and I see there are some apples 
ripe. We’ll just have to manage somehow.” 

The children sat down and ate their mush. 
Mother was going to save her bowlful, but the chil- 
dren would not touch theirs until she ate too. For- 
tunately there was a whole quart of milk, but Betty 
did not like the mush without sugar. She had a 
great sweet tooth. 

When Mother had gone in to the city, the two 
children sat in a tree out in the orchard, and 
talked the situation over. But they did not see 
any way out of it. By ten o’clock the mush was all 
digested and they began to feel ravenous. They 
were much hungrier than they would be ordinarily, 
just because there wasn’t anything to eat. Betty 
made a lot of sauce out of the apples she had 
picked, but it was so sour that they could only eat 
a few spoonfuls. 

They went into the orchard again. “ Let’s pre- 
tend we’re savages, and eat what they eat,” pro- 
posed Betty. 

“ What do they eat? ” 

“ Oh, wild berries, roots, and grasses, and ani- 
mals; most anything, I guess.” 

64 


JOHN AND BETTI 


‘‘ Well, we could try.” 

So they hunted for grasses and roots and berries. 
They did find one kind of high grass that was sweet 
for about an inch near the base of the stem. They 
ate all they could find of it, but it was not very sat- 
isfying. The roots all tasted bitter and tough, so 
they did not eat any, and they could not find any 
ripe berries. They put out some fish lines in the 
duck pond, but the fish seemed to have all gone on 
a vacation. None of them bit. They even lay in 
wait for nearly an hour for a fat bullfrog. But 
he only poked his nose out of the water once in a 
while, and then ducked under again quickly before 
John could throw a stone. At last the children 
gave up in disgust. “ I guess this isn’t a very 
good place to be savages in,” said John as they 
trudged back to the orchard. 

Betty shook her head sadly. 

They left the fishing lines still in the water with 
fresh worms on the hooks, in the hope that some- 
thing might bite on them before night. The ends 
of the lines were tied to bushes on the bank. 

Betty climbed a peach tree, and tried biting out 
the softer spots in the peaches, but they were still 
very sour, and she gave it up. With a sad expres- 
sion, she watched a robin collecting his all-day 
meal. He ran along the ground perking his head 
from side to side listening. Then suddenly he 
65 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 

poked his bill into the soft earth, and pulled and 
tugged mightily. Out came a fat worm. Mr. 
Robin gulped him down whole, and then preened 
one wing contentedly. 

Betty sighed. “ I wish I liked worms,” she said. 

“ Let’s go for a walk,” proposed John. 

‘‘ All right.” 

They walked in to town, and stopped outside 
Bobby Wayland’s house. “ I wonder if they’ve 
had lunch yet,” said Betty thoughtfully. 

“ Let’s see.” 

So they went in and asked for Bobby. The 
housekeeper answered their ring, and told them 
that Bobby and Peter had both gone in town for 
the afternoon, and would not be baek much before 
supper time. The children walked away disconso- 
lately; fate seemed to be against them. And they 
kept getting hungrier and hungrier. ‘‘ If we’re so 
hungry, I guess IMamma feels bad too,” said Betty, 
who was gaining a dark blue thunder-cloud out- 
look, in proportion to the pain in her stomach. 

The thought of Mother made them feel much 
worse, and they wandered aimlessly down to the 
little station looking as if they had lost their last 
friend in the world. In the afternoons Dan kept a 
little eandy and paper stand down at the station. 
He was there now and saw John and Betty com- 
ing. He wondered at their long faces. 

66 


JOHN AND BETTY 

Dan was eating a piece of chocolate. Betty 
looked at him hungrily. She knew it wasn’t polite, 
but she couldn’t help it. “ Have a bar? ” asked 
Dan, offering one. 

“ Thank you,” said Betty quickly accepting it. 
She broke it and gave John half. 

Dan watched the children devour it ravenously. 
He frowned thoughtfully. “ Didn’t you have any 
lunch? ” he asked. 

Betty shook her head. 

“We aren’t going to Have anything but milk 
and apples for four days,” said John almost a little 
proudly. After all there was a sort of distinction 
in it. 

“ Unless we can catch some fish,” added Betty. 
“ But they’re not biting.” 

Dan hastily offered another bar. Betty handed 
it to John. “ Put it in your pocket for Mamma,” 
she said. He did so. 

Dan wrinkled his forehead in thought, and 
scratched his head. Then, “ Why don’t you earn 
some money, and buy some stuff? ” he asked. 

“ Oh, if we could! ” and Betty’s eyes were sud- 
denly very bright. 

“ I think if you got some candy, and took it 
around to people, you could sell quite a lot,” said 
Dan, speaking slowly. “ You see, you pay five 
cents for a bar of chocolate and sell it for ten.” 

67 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 

“ But we haven’t any money to buy it,” objected 
practical John, and he explained what had hap- 
pened. 

Dan hardly knew what to say after he had heard 
the tale. Betty felt grateful that he did not laugh 
at them, because they had believed in fairies. The 
older boy counted the change in his pockets, but 
there was not more than enough to buy his own sup- 
plies. “ Why don’t you ask somebody to lend you 
the money? ” he finally suggested. “ I’d get you 
the candy along with my own things to-night. Mr. 
Way land might let you have it.” 

John hesitated, for he knew that Mother disap- 
proved of borrowing. “ We could pay it right 
back again to-morrow night,” Betty urged. “ I 
don’t mind asking him.” 

.John gave in, for after all a stomach is a stom- 
ach. “ But I’ll ask him,” he declared. “ That’s a 
boy’s job.” 

Betty made a little grimace, but she did not 
argue, for the main point had been gained. 

John and Betty walked back to the parsonage, 
and Betty v^aited while her brother inquired for 
Peter Way land. He was not home yet, so John 
said he would wait, as his business was very impor- 
tant. The housekeeper looked a little surprised, 
but she made no objection. 

It was near sunset, so John asked Betty to go on 
68 


JOHN AND BETTY 

and look after the fishing lines, and then hurry 
home, so there would be someone there when 
Mother arrived, and she would not be worried. He 
himself would wait for Mr. Wayland, and if he got 
the money, go on down to Dan’s with it before he 
came home. 

Betty ran as fast as she could, because she was a 
little afraid of the woods, when she was all by her- 
self after dark. The sun, looking like an enor- 
mous Fourth of July fire balloon, was just resting 
its edge on the distant hills, when the little girl 
arrived at the pond. She came up all out of breath, 
but the last little puff she had she uttered in an Oh! 
of delight, as she saw one of the lines whipping 
back and forth. She pulled it in as quickly as she 
could, being careful to let out a little line, when 
the strain became too great. In a few minutes she 
had landed a really big catfish. As he lay flopping 
on the grass, his long whiskers and ugly little slaty 
blue eyes made her think of some absurd gnome, 
but more still she thought of the good dinner he 
would make. 

Betty slipped the hook out of the fish’s jaw, and 
then fastened him to a piece of line. Next she 
drew in the other lines. The fish seemed to have 
become hungry in the children’s absence, for Betty 
found another smaller catfish, a sunfish, which she 
gently took off the hook and threw back, because he 
69 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 

was so little, a small pickerel about a foot long, and 
a medium-sized yellow perch. As she pulled in the 
last line a small water turtle came with it. He was 
feasting on another j)erch, and the fish was about 
half eaten. Betty was cross and picked up a stone 
to throw at him. Then suddenly she lowered her 
hand again. Maybe the turtle had been very hun- 
gry, too. So she took off the rest of the fish, and 
threw it after the little turtle as he swam away. 

Betty had quite a heavy string when she started 
home. She tied the line to a stick and swung it 
over her shoulder, so she could carry it more easily. 
Neither JNIother nor John was home when she 
reached the house, so the little girl hastened to 
light the lamps and start supper so as to surprise 
them. 

She turned on the drafts in the kitchen stove, so 
the fire would get hot while she cleaned the fish. 
When the fish was ready, Betty got out a big pan, 
and put it on the fire to heat. Then she found 
some lard left in a jar, greased the hot pan, and put 
in the fish, which she had salted. The delicious 
odor that rose as the fish browned made her dread- 
fully hungry. She hurried to set the table so that 
supper might be eaten as soon as Mother and John 
were home. 

Just as the fish was browned to the last turn, 
Mother came in, and John with her. John sniffed 
70 


JOHN AND BETTY 


vigorously. “Gee, that smells good!” he said, 
and Mother agreed without even correcting him for 
the exclamation. 

Betty brought on a big platter of sizzling fish, 
more than anybody could eat, and they all sat down 
right away. Mother was ever so pleased and sur- 
prised. 

Betty wanted to ask John if he had got the 
money, but she could not before Mother, because 
they had decided not to tell her about the adventure 
until they saw how it turned out. They knew she 
would worry about them, if she knew, because she 
always did worry. 

The fish was really delicious. It was extra sweet 
and tender because it was just fresh out of the 
water. And then everybody was hungry. But at 
last they were through, and there was /enough still 
left for breakfast. Then John remembered the 
chocolate. It was a little flat from being sat on, 
but, of course, that made no difference in the flavor. 
They made Mother eat all of it, much against her 
will, for they insisted that they had had so much 
they couldn’t eat any more. 

Mother looked very tired, so John made her sit 
down in an easy chair with a book, while he and 
Betty washed the dishes. As soon as they were 
alone in the kitchen, “ Did you get it? ” whispered 
Betty. 

71 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OR 

John nodded. “ Yes/’ he said. “And I gave it 
to Dan to get the candy.” 

“ Oh, dandy! ” and Betty danced a little jig of 
joy in the middle of the kitchen. 

“ Mr. Wayland wanted to give me ten dollars, 
but I only took five. I gave him my I. O. U.,” 
proudly. 

“ What’s that? ” 

“ Oh, that’s business. You give it to people 
when you owe them money.” 

“ O-oh.” 

John was thoughtful for a few minutes, while he 
made such a dreadful noise scraping the frying-pan 
that Betty could not make herself heard. Then he 
laid down the knife and spoke. “ I think Mr. 
Wayland likes Mamma quite a lot. He was ever 
so fussed when I told him about not having enough 
to eat. He didn’t want me to pay the money 
back.” 

Betty set her lips firmly. “ Oh, but we must. 
He’s not like an uncle, or something like that.” 
Then susi)iciously, “ What makes you think he 
likes Mamma so much? I haven’t seen anything 
’spicious.” 

“ The way he looks at her as if he’d like to eat 
her. And when I told him to-night about being 
hungry, he said, ‘ Poor little girl! ’ ” 

Betty frowned. “ Maybe he meant me.” 

72 


JOHN AND BETTY 


Her brother shook his head. “ No, I don’t think 
he did. He didn’t look that way.” 

The little girl rattled the dishes with unnecessary 
vigor. Then she spoke firmly. “We’ve got to 
pay him back to-morrow quick. We don’t want 
him bothering around Mamma. If he tries, he’s 
got to be stopped.” 

“ How?” 

“ Well, we stopped that fat man in the city. I 
guess we can manage Peter Wayland,” contemptu- 
ously. 

John looked thoughtful. “ I don’t know. He’s 
not fat, and he hasn’t got any sloppy double chins,” 
remembering quite clearly the parson’s firm, square 
one. 

“ What’s that got to do Avith it? You might 
think you wanted a horrid old stepfather! ” 

John stopped, struck suddenly motionless, with 
a plate poised in the air. “ You think that’s what 
he’s after? ” 

The little girl nodded. 

The boy’s face grew anxious, and he scowled. 
“ Well, if that’s it, lie’s got to be stopped,” grimly. 

His sister beamed. “ We’ll stop him all right.” 

Meantime Peter Wayland sat in his study, 
frowning at his Sunday sermon, which he could not 
finish. Between him and the blank page kept flit- 
ting a SAveet girlish face Avith bright dark eyes. It 
73 


JOHN AND BETTI 


was unbearable to think that she should be hungry, 
while he had more than he ever could use. Some- 
one ought to take care of her. He was going to 
himself, if she would let him. He wished he had 
given John fifteen instead of five dollars, and made 
him keep it. He must find out to-morrow how 
they were getting on. 


74 


CHAPTER VII 


THE ROAD TO WEALTH 

The next morning, right after breakfast, while 
Mother went in town, the children ran across the 
fields to the duck pond and set fresh lines in the 
hope of fish for lunch. Then they hurried down to 
Dan’s. Dan and his mother lived in a quaint little 
cottage on the edge of the town. It needed paint- 
ing and new shingles badly, and it was smaller than 
the Stamfords’ house, and less aristocratic because 
it had no porch, only steps. But the children could 
not help thinking it was a pretty little place, for 
green creepers grew over the walls, hiding the lack 
of paint, tall hollyhocks were just coming into 
bloom on either side of the front door, and the yard 
was full of old-fashioned, fragrant flowers. 

Betty sniffed delightedly, and then she whistled 
to a funny-looking dog on the front steps, while 
she unlatched the gate. Dan came running out, 
and called, “ Wait a minute,” while he led the dog 
around to the side of the house and chained him to 
a small kennel under a big tree. “Now you can 
come in,” said Dan. 

The children entered, and Betty made a bee-line 
75 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 

for the dog. “ Don’t get too near,” warned the 
big boy. 

‘‘ Does he bite? ” asked John. 

“ Generally, unless he’s used to you. You see, 
he’s a bloodhound,” proudly. 

Both children stared with great interest. Betty 
immediately thought of the bloodhounds that had 
chased Eliza across the ice. She had always pic- 
tured them as enormous things about the size of 
ponies, with slathering jaws. She did not see quite 
so well why Eliza had been afraid of funny little 
dogs like this with bow legs and floppy ears, 
though, of course, even a tiny thing like a rat could 
bite hard. She knew, for she had picked one up 
once, and had to have a bloody finger disinfected 
and bandaged afterward. 

The bloodhound regarded the children with his 
tongue hanging out and wearing a foolish expres- 
sion. He wagged his tail. “ I don’t believe he’d 
bite me,” stated Betty. “ I think he likes me. I’m 
going to pet him.” And she did. The blood- 
hound wagged his tail hard, and rubbed his head on 
her knees. “ See? He’s not cross to me.” 

Dan looked apologetic. “ Well, he’s only a 
puppy yet. He’ll be a lot savager when he grows 
up. But he’s great to trail. He can follow any- 
thing, with his nose on the ground. I take him 
hunting.” 


76 


JOHN AND BETTY 

John was very iiiiich interested. “If I went 
somewhere out of sight, could he find me? 

“ ,Yes. If I gave him something to smell that 
you had handled, and said, find ! he’d go straight to 
you. Why, he could follow a trail three days old, 
if it hadn’t rained in between.” 

The children regarded the dog more respectfully 
now. 

“ What’s his name? ” asked Betty. 

“ Path-finder — from Cooper, you know.” 

“ That’s a dandy name. Mamma says it’s so im- 
portant to name people right, because if they get a 
good name, then they have something to live up to.” 

Just then Mrs. Wilson came out of the door with 
a big basket of clean clothes, which she began to 
hang out on the line, after smiling a greeting to the 
children. Betty picked up the bag of clothes-pins, 
and handed them to her as she needed them. She 
thought Mrs. Wilson was a very cheerful-looking 
person, with her ruddy cheeks and laughing blue 
eyes. Then she was ever so much bigger than 
Mamma, with large muscular arms. Maybe that 
was how she could wash so many clothes without 
looking tired. 

' When the clothes were all hung up, Mrs. Wilson 
said, “ Thank you,” and gave the children each two 
cookies. Then she went back to a tub full of suds 
and more dirty clothes. Betty ate her cookies, and 
77 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 

watched while Dan’s mother rubbed the clothes. 
As she wrung out a finished sheet, “ You do have a 
dreadful lot of Avash for two people, don’t you? ” 
said the little girl. 

Mrs. Wilson threw back her head and laughed. 
“Bless the child!” she said. “These aren’t all 
mine. I take in washing.” 

“ 0-oh.” Then, “ Does it pay well? ” 

“ Fair. But it takes a lot of strength,” and she 
gave a blanket a vigorous rub. 

Betty regarded her own plump arms, and then 
looked at Mrs. Wilson’s big ones. She sighed. 
Apparently wealth could not be attained by her 
through suds. 

When John and Betty had finished their cookies, 
Mrs. Wilson lent them two baskets, and Dan put 
half the candy he had bought in each. It made 
rather a heavy load for the little girl, and she 
looked at the pile of little boxes and chocolate bars 
anxiously. “ I do hope I can sell it all,” she 
said. 

Dan rubbed his ankle with his bare foot, and 
looked embarrassed. “ If you find you’ve got 
some you can’t sell. I’ll take it for my stand down 
at the station,” he said. 

Betty smiled. “ That’s awfully good of you.” 

Mrs. Wilson beamed. “ Dan’s not much to look 
at, but he’s got a good heart, and I know it.” 

78 


JOHN AND BETTI 


Dan blushed furiously, and shied a stone at a 
telegraph pole to cover his embarrassment. 

J ohn and Betty decided to start in the centre of 
the town, and work out in different directions. 
They drew straws to decide which should go north 
and which south. Betty drew south. She was 
rather glad, because she had hardly ever been in 
that part of the town, since it was the side farthest 
away from her own home. 

Betty walked beyond the row of grocery and 
butcher shops, until she came to a block of neat 
two-story houses with clean front steps. No one 
was stirring outside, so she walked up the first set 
of steps, and rang the bell. A big Irish woman 
came to the door, wiping the suds from her hands 
onto her apron. Betty smiled engagingly. 
“ Would you like to buy some candy? ” she asked. 
‘‘ It’s only ten cents a box, and all kinds.” She 
showed her basket. 

The woman’s eyes twinkled. “ Bless the smilin’ 
face of you, I reckon I’ll have to.” And she felt 
in her apron pocket for her purse, from which she 
drew out a shining ten-cent piece. “ Have ye got 
marshmallers? ” 

Betty produced a box promptly, and received 
the ten cents. 

She tried the next house more confidently, firmly 
convinced of the value of a smile. No one was 
79 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 

home here, and people at some of the places did not 
buy, but by the time Betty had finished the block, 
she had sold six boxes, and was jingling sixty cents 
in her pocket quite cheerfully. She began to feel 
a little sorry that John had not bought still more 
candy. 

In the next block the houses were larger and set 
a little back from the street, with smooth lawns and 
gardens about them. Several children were play- 
ing in one of the gardens. Betty stopped and 
watched puss-in-the-corner for a minute. Then 
she went in. The youngsters spied her basket and 
crowded around. Betty showed them all the 
goodies she had. The oldest girl ran to the open 
door and called in excitedly, “ Oh, Mamma, here’s 
a little girl with some candy. Can’t we get some? ” 

A nice-looking woman came out on the porcli, 
looked over what Betty had, and bought four 
boxes. Betty departed with the firm belief that 
places where there were children were the best for 
selling candy. 

After that several maids turned Betty away, and 
she made up her mind that if she were ever rich 
again, she would give her maids strict orders al- 
ways to buy candy from little girls who brought it 
around. Betty was walking slowly past a place 
with an iron fence around the garden, when she 
noticed an old gentleman on the porch. He seemed 
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JOHN AND BETTI 


to be having difficulty of some sort, so the little girl 
opened the gate and went in. She set her basket 
on the porch steps, and walked up. Then she 
wished she hadn’t come in at all; he was such a 
dreadfully cross-looking old man. He hadn’t no- 
ticed her yet, because he had dropped the paper he 
had been reading and was busy trying to pick it up. 
The wind had carried it beyond reach of his hand 
near the porch railing, and the old man was poking 
at it with his cane. His feet were all wrapped up, 
and resting on a stool, so Betty felt sure he could 
not walk after the paper very easily. His hand 
trembled, and his cane really poked the paper 
farther away, instead of drawing it nearer. 

Betty forgot to be afraid of his cross looks, be- 
cause she was so interested. “ I’ll get it for you,” 
she said. 

The old man looked up very much surprised, and 
Betty picked up the paper and handed it to him. 
He grunted instead of sajdng thank you, and stuck 
the paper into the side of his chair, where it could 
not blow away again. Then he straightened his 
glasses and stared very hard at Betty. “ Do you 
know,” he asked in a rasping voice, “ that I don’t 
allow any children in here? Horrid little nui- 
sances ! ” 

Betty flushed. “ I didn’t know, and I don’t 
think it’s very polite of you to call me a nuisance, 

8i 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 

when I came in just to pick up your paper for 
you.” 

The old man snorted. “ What’s that basket on 
my step? ” 

“ That’s candy,” she replied. “ I’ve been selling 
it. I set it down when I came up.” She picked 
up the basket, and started down the steps. 

“ Stop! ” he ordered sharply. “ Didn’t you say 
you were selling that stuff? ” 

Betty nodded. 

Well, then,” very disagreeably, “ why don’t 
you sell me some? ” 

Betty laughed and came back. “ What kind do 
you like? ” 

“ Don’t like any of it. Have you got straw- 
berry? ” 

“ Oh, yes. Strawberry cream with chocolate 
outside,” and she produced a package. 

He looked at it. “ That’ll do. Give me five of 
them.” 

Betty gasped at his munificence, but she handed 
him the five packages and accepted the fifty cents, 
which he drew out of his waistcoat pocket. 

He handed her back one of the packages. 
“ Here,” he said, “ you’ll have to help me eat some 
of this stuff, or you’ll be guilty of having killed me 
with indigestion.” 

Betty set down her basket, perched on the porch 
82 


JOHN AND BETTY 

railing, opened the box, and started eating the 
candy, but first she taught the old gentleman a 
lesson in politeness by carefully saying thank you. 
He only grunted and took a bite of candy. Sud- 
denly Betty laughed. 

“ What are you giggling at? ” he growled. 

“ Why, you make me think of a walnut.” He 
glared. “ You see, you’re so ruggedy outside and 
awfully nice inside.” 

Betty thought there was a twinkle in his eyes for 
a moment. Then, “H’mph!” he said. “Have 
another,” and he held out a second box. 

The little girl accej)ted. 

When the}^ had finished the candy, and Betty 
was ready to go, “ What’s your name? ” he asked. 

“ Betty Stamford. I live over on the other side 
of the town.” 

“ Well, Betty, the next time you’re coming past, 
stop in.” 

“ Thank you,” said Betty, “ I will.” 

The old gentleman spread out his paper and be- 
gan to read, so the little girl said good-bye and 
went on down the street. 

After what the old gentleman had said about 
coming back again, Betty thought it would be a 
good idea to ask everybody if they would like to 
have candy regularly once a week. Most of them 
said they would, and Betty began to see a beautiful 
83 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 

prospect of weekly pocket money and help to 
Mother, too. 

Betty had only two boxes left when she turned 
into a quaint old place with big white pillars in 
front, high hedges and a neglected looking garden. 
The house was very big and lonesome looking, and 
the bell she pulled seemed to echo all through it. 
No one answered right away, and the little girl had 
decided there was no one home, when the door 
ojiened a little way. 

A plump little old lady in a lavender dress stood 
peeping out with her hand still on the door-knob. 
Behind her stood another old lady in black, who 
was tall and angular. Betty smiled. “ Would 
you like some candy? ” she asked. 

“Dear me!” said the plump old lady, opening 
the door a little wider. “Dear me! Would I, 
Mary? ” 

“ Decide for yourself, Ellen,” said the tall one. 

“ It’s very nice, and only ten cents a box,” said 
Betty with another smile. 

“ Well, I guess I would like some,” said the 
plump lady, and opened the door all the way. 
“ Won’t you come in while I get the money? ” 

Betty stepped into a high dark hall, and the tall, 
thin lady showed her into the parlor, while the 
other one pattered off up-stairs. The little girl 
thought the parlor was very pretty, because it was 


JOHN AND BETTI 


all upholstered in red plush and gold braid, and 
there were such a lot of bright colored pictures of 
cats and puppies and fruit on the walls. She 
wished that Mother had fixed their parlor that way. 
And then suddenlj’’ she saw a huge yellow cat lying 
on a cushion on the window-seat. It had big golden 
eyes and long silky fur, and was quite the hand- 
somest creature she had ever seen. “ Oh, what a 
beauty!” cried Betty, and, setting down her bas- 
ket, she hurried across the room. 

The old lady fluttered after her. “ Take care,” 
she warned, “ Boots doesn’t like children.” 

But Betty was already stroking him with a gen- 
tle, soothing touch. Boots blinked his eyes and 
purred. The little girl beamed. “You see, he 
does like me. I guess he knows I love cats, ’spe- 
cially yellow ones.” 

The plump little lady hurried in. “ Here’s 

the Well, I never! ” stopping still as she saw 

Betty and the cat. “ That’s the first time I ever 
saw Boots take to a child.” 

The little girl looked up. “ I think he’s lovely; 
I wish I had one like him.” 

The old lady flushed with pleasure. Betty 
handed her the candy, after a reluctant parting 
with Boots, and received the twenty cents. Boots 
jumped down from his cushion and followed the 
little girl to the door, purring and rubbing. 

85 


JOHN AND BETTY 

“ Would you like some candy next week? ’’ asked 
Betty. 

“ Yes, indeed,"’ replied the plump old lady. “ Be 
sure to stop. It certainly is wonderful how Boots 
^ took to you.” 


86 


•i 


CHAPTER VIII 

A DECLARATION OF WAR 

It was a little after noon when Betty finally 
met John outside the drug-store as she had prom- 
ised to do. He was sitting on the curb in the shade 
of a tree, trying to look patient. “ I’m sorry I’m 
late,” said Betty, hurrying up. “ But it took ever 
so long to sell it all. And then some people wanted 
to talk, and I asked, and most of them said yes, 
they would like candy every week, if I brought it 
around.” 

John gasped. “ Did you sell all of it already? ” 

“ Yes, of course.” And she showed him her 
empty basket, and her sagging pocket full of 
change. 

Her brother regarded her respectfully. “ Well, 
you were quick ! ” 

Betty was very pleased, because John seldom 
paid compliments. “ How much have you left?” 
she asked, sitting down beside him. 

“ I only sold two dollars’ worth so far. Peter 
Wayland bought one.” Betty frowned. “ People 
didn’t seem very hungry for candy.” 

“ It’s not the candv they like so much,” replied 
87 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 

Betty sagely. “ It’s the smiles.” She emptied her 
change from her pocket into her lap, and counted 
it carefully. There was just five dollars, mostly in 
nickels and dimes. The little girl sighed with re- 
lief. “ It’s all there,” she said. “ We’ll get some 
ice-cream at the drug-store for lunch. And then 
you take this money over to Mr. Wayland’s and 
pay him back. After that I wish you’d go on 
home, and see if there are any fish on the lines yet, 
and get the house all tidy before Mamma comes 
home.” 

“ But what about the rest of my candy? ” asked 
John anxiously. 

“ Oh, I’ll sell it for you, if you’ll look after the 
house for me.” 

The boy smiled with relief. “ Sure I will.” 

The ice-cream tasted delicious after the long 
walk in the sun, and the children ate it as slowly as 
possible, so as to make the flavor last longer. Fi- 
nally they scraped uj:) the last drop and laid down 
their spoons. Betty hung John’s basket on her 
arm, and gave her brother the five dollars she had 
collected. He paid for the ice-cream, and then 
they went out together. On the sidewalk Betty 
paused. ‘‘ I’ll get the things for supper on my 
way home,” she said. “And I wish you’d take my 
empty basket down to Dan’s.” John j)romised. 
“And,” frowning, “ when you pay Mr. Wavland 
88 


JOHN AND BETTY 

back, you’ve got to thank him, of course, but then 
you might try stopping him just a little.” 

“ How?” 

“ I don’t know, but some way.” 

“ I’ll try to think of something,” John promised. 

As Betty set off down the street again, she 
hummed a little tune. Everything was going 
splendidly. She had no doubt she could sell the 
thirty little boxes in her basket. She had done 
fifty that morning. Mr. Wayland was to be paid 
off, and his possible course toward being a detested 
stepfather firmly checked. There would be money 
for a good supper, and enough left over to last the 
two days before Mother’s salary came in. The lit- 
tle girl felt very pleased and self-satisfied. 

Betty had turned toward the western end of the 
town this afternoon. The houses were small, and 
though they were full of children, the candy did not 
sell very fast. Most of them wanted just a penny’s 
worth. The little girl tried dividing the candy in 
the packages up into ten equal parts, and then sell- 
ing each part for one cent. She sold several boxes 
this way, but it was slow worlc. 

At last Betty entered a country road beyond the 
town, after walking down a slope lined on each side 
Avith old boots, broom-handles and tin cans. She 
Avas very hot and dusty, so she sat down in the 
sliade of a tree to rest foi- a minute and to count her 
89 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 

wares. The little girl found that she had eleven 
boxes of candy still unsold. She sighed. It 
would never do to go back without finishing, but 
she was tired. She stared at the high stone wall 
across the road and wondered who lived behind it. 
They must be rich people to own such a big place 
and need such a high wall. Rich people had not 
proved the most generous customers that day, but 
Betty decided to try here. They might take one 
box am^way. 

The little girl picked up her basket and walked 
slowly along by the wall watching for a gate. 
Presently she came to a big iron one. It was 
closed but not locked, and it swung open a few 
inches when she pushed it. Betty squeezed through 
and stood peering up a shady avenue that led to a 
big stone house. Someone in white was moving 
about on the porch, and in the shade of a tree, a lit- 
tle distance away, sat an old man in an armchair. 

Betty approached a little shyly, for everything 
seemed so still and dignified. The old man was 
leaning back with his eyes shut, as if he had just 
dozed off for a moment, and the little girl thought 
she had never seen anyone handsomer. His snow- 
white hair waved back from a noble face, and his 
beard was like fine spun silk. Betty stood looking 
at him; he might be a king or a president, she 
thought. The old rpan stirred and opened his eyes. 

90 


JOHN AND BETTY. 

“ Good-afternoon/’ said Betty. “ Would you 
like some candy? ” 

The old man rubbed his eyes. “ Eh? ” Then 
he smiled. “ Where did you eome from, little 
girl? ’’ 

“ Oh, I came out from the town.’’ 

“ Didn’t you know it was lese majesty to come 
into the palace grounds without an invitation? ” 

“ No, I didn’t know,” her eyes opening as round 
as saucers. “ But I did think you looked like a 
king. Where are you king of? ” 

“ You ought to say your majesty.” 

“ Where are you king of, your majesty, and is 
the queen here too — and the princes? ” eagerly. 

“ I’m the King of England, but the queen and 
princes are all dead.” He sighed. 

Betty looked sympathetic. “ That’s too bad. 
We could have had such fun, the princes and John 
and me. I’ve never played with a real prince. 
But,” suddenly, “ I thought the King of England 
always stayed in England — your majesty.” 

“ I’m traveling — for my health. And I always 
travel incognito. Nobody knows I’m the king; 
they all call me Mr. Brown. You mustn’t tell any- 
one.” 

Betty promised, very much delighted at having 
a secret with the King of the British Isles. Also 
she offered him some candy, for she had an impres- 
91 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 


sioii, gained from her reading, that it was the 
proper thing to bring presents to royalty. But the 
King would not accept the candy for nothing, and 
insisted on buying all that Betty had left. The 
little girl was very curious to learn all about court 
life. What princes had to eat, how many dogs and 
horses they had, with whom they played, if they 
went to school; in fact, she intended to pump his 
majesty thoroughly of all information. But she 
had not much time. The King had just told her 
that princes had all the ice-cream they wanted, and 
a whole stable full of horses, when the figure in 
white began to walk down the avenue from the 
house. 

The King seemed anxious. “ You must go 
now,’^ he said. “ It Avouldn’t do for the Duke of 
Gloucester to see you. He’s a peculiar fellow, and 
doesn’t like people to talk to me when I’m resting 
in the afternoon.” 

Betty picked up her basket. “ May I come 
again, your majesty? ” she asked. “ There are 
such a lot of things I’d like to know about.” 

“ Yes, j^es, but hurry; he’s coming.” 

“ Good-bye,” said Betty, and ran quickly down 
the avenue, keeping in the shadow of the trees, so 
the Duke would not see her. She slipped through 
the gate again, and pulled it to behind her. Then 
she peered through the iron gi'ill from behind one of 
92 


JOHN AND BETTY, 

the gate-posts, for she was curious to see the Duke. 
The King had leaned back and pretended ‘to go to 
sleep again. The Duke must be a very imposing 
person to make a King afraid of him, thought the 
little girl. But when the Duke arrived, he proved 
to be a very ordinary looking man. In fact, there 
was nothing unusual about him, except the rather 
odd white uniform he had on. The uniform looked 
something like Avhat the doctors had worn at the 
hospital, when Betty had gone with Mother to give 
toys to the poor sick children at Christmas time. 

The Duke spoke to the King, who pretended to 
wake up suddenly. Then his majesty nodded and 
rose from his chair. He leaned on the Duke’s 
shoulder, and walked with him toward the house. 
As Betty started home, she pondered with a puck- 
ered brow upon the problems of royal courts. She 
decided to ask John’s opinion of the affair, and 
then she remembered that his majesty had asked 
her not to tell anyone. Well, she should have to 
see the King again later, and ask his permission to 
tell her brother. Maybe sometime when the King 
was through traveling he would ask John and her, 
and Mother, of course, to visit him in England. 
Wouldn’t Bobby and Dan open their eyes then! 
And with her head full of rosy dreams, and her 
pocket jingling with change, Betty walked back to 
town, forgetting all about how hot it was. She 
93 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OE 

stopped at the butcher’s and grocer’s, and bought 
things for supper and breakfast, then hurried 
home. 

Meantime John had taken the empty basket 
back to Dan’s, and played a game of marbles at the 
station, in which he had won three fine bull’s eyes 
almost new, a rather worn aggie, and only lost one 
commony. John put his winnings in his pocket, 
and remembered his promised visit to Mr. Way- 
land. 

Peter Wayland, dressed in white flannels and 
athletic shirt, Avas seated on his porch, his feet rest- 
ing upon the rail, and a corn-cob pipe drooping 
from one corner of his mouth, when John ap- 
proached up the gravel walk. The crunching of 
the boy’s feet caused the minister to look up from 
the sporting page in which he had been absorbed. 
“ Hello,” he said genially. “ What can I do for 
you? ” 

John took in the pleasing picture of healthy mas- 
culine youth, and felt his suspicions temporarily 
lulled to rest. “ I came to get back my I. O. U.,” 
he replied. 

Mr. Wayland took a crumpled piece of paper 
out of his pocket and tossed it over. “ I never 
wanted the thing anyAvay,” he said. 

John did not reply at once. He smoothed out 
the paper, examined it carefully, while the minister 
94 


JOHN AND BETTY. 


watched with an amused smile, then he put it 
in his pocket. Next he drew a handful of change 
from his other pocket and began counting it. 

Mr. Wayland’s expression changed promptly. 
“ I don’t want any of that,” he said. “ It’s all 
right about the five dollars. I guess you’d do as 
much for me.” 

John looked up frowning. “ Mamma says it’s 
not right to owe anybody money,” he said firmly. 
“ You have to take it all back.” And he went on 
counting. 

“ Well, but I won’t have you going hungry. 
You can pa}^ it back some other time.” 

John added the last quarter to the pile on the 
porch table. “ We’ve got plenty to manage,” he 
said. “And thanks for the loan.” He hesitated. 

“You ought to keep it as capital for your busi- 
ness.” 

John scuffed his toe against the porch floor. 
“ No, we’d rather not.” He was trying vainly to 
think of some way to get off without hurting Mr. 
Wayland’s feelings and at the same time avoid be- 
ing accused of remissness by Betty. He could not 
think of the right words, and was turning slowly 
away, when the minister called him back. 

Mr. Wayland was oddly flushed. “ You might 
tell your mother that I’ll be over this evening with 
those photogi-aphs I promised to show her.” 

95 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 

The little boy stiffened. So he was guilty after 
all, self-convicted. John stared at the toes of his 
boots. “ We’d rather you didn’t come over,” he 
said. 

The minister started, and dropped his feet from 
the rail. “Eh! What?” 

“ We think it’d be better if you didn’t come to 
our house any more,” he repeated firmly. 

The man stared. “ Why? ” 

John scuffed again uncomfortably. “ Oh, just 
because.” 

Mr. Wayland frowned and thought deeply. 
Then, “ Who told you to say that? ” 

“ Betty. But,” hastily, “ I’d have said it any- 
way.” 

The minister’s face brightened amazingly. 
“ O-oh, Betty, eh? ” He chuckled. “And what’s 
Betty’s objection to me? What have I done to 
her? ” 

“ Nothing. But we don’t want you bothering 
around Mamma.” 

“ You don’t, eh? ” 

“ And we’re not going to let vou marrv her, so 
there!” 

Peter Way land’s face set firm, and his chin pro- 
tmded, though there \vas a suspicion of a twinkle 
in his eyes. “ John,” he said, “ that’s exactly what 
I’m going to do — if she’ll have me.” 

96 


JOHN AND BETTY 


John spread his feet apart and thrust his hands 
deep into his pockets. “ Then we’ll stop you, that’s 
all ! ” He turned with an air of finality and strode 
away. 

Peter Wayland watched him go, with a pucker 
between his eyes. 

J ohn found Betty already home, and he told her 
about the interview while he helped her to prepare 
supper. Betty’s outspoken admiration of his firm- 
ness in dealing with the situation pleased him im- 
mensely. It was seldom that his sister accorded 
him genuine admiration. “ So it’s war now,” John 
finished. 

“ Yes, war! ” echoed Betty, plunging her knife 
into a little speck in the potato she was paring with 
unnecessary force. Her eyes shone very brightly. 
“ It’s going to be great fun.” 

John looked doubtful, recalling Peter Way- 
land’s firmness. “ I don’t know. He won’t be 
scared off just because we’re bad, you know, like 
the other one. He’d just want to reform us.” 

“ I’d reform him,” declared Betty scornfully. 
“ Of course, we’ll have to try all kinds of ways, ’til 
we find one that works.” She reflected darkly. 
“ I think a castle moat would keep him away for 
to-night.” 

“ We could try it,” agreed John. 


97 


CHAPTER IX 


ENTERTAINMENT OFFENSIVE AND DEFENSIVE 

As soon as dinner was ready, John posted him- 
self in the front window as a scout to announce 
Mother’s approach, while Betty remained in the 
kitchen to watch the food and see that nothing 
burned. Presently John’s warning Avhistle 
sounded, and instantly his sister set to work to j)ut 
the dinner on the table. She had just finished 
when Mother entered the front door. The chil- 
dren ran to kiss Mother, and then rushed her 
straight to the dining-room. 

Mother stared at the table in astonishment, while 
John and Betty hopped up and down with delight 
at her surprise. There were carefully browned 
steak, mashed potatoes, a big platter of fresh corn 
on the cob, baked apples with plenty of sugar and 
cream, and tea for Mother. The children made 
Mother take off her hat at once and sit down, and 
as they ate that delicious supper they told Mother 
all about how they had managed it. Mother was 
immensely proud of her two young financiers, 
though she did not like the idea of their starting a 
98 


JOHN AND BETTY 


regular weekly candy route. Still she did not for- 
bid them. Betty insisted on turning over the rest 
of the five dollars they had earned to Mother, and 
Mother agreed to lend them five dollars at the be- 
ginning of the next week, if they decided on the 
candy route. 

After supper the children coaxed Mother to rest, 
while they rushed through the dishes at top speed. 
They were glad that she did not go out on the front 
porch, as that would have rendered their later work 
impossible. As it chanced. Mother sat down in the 
parlor to read the paper, and so was out of sight of 
the front path. The first dusk was falling as the 
children slipped from the kitchen, armed with 
spades and a bucket. Animated by a noble pur- 
pose, the protection of their mother, they forgot 
their fatigue and attacked the path a few feet in- 
side the gate with vigor. 

During half an hour’s hard work, they managed 
to dig a hole the width of the path, three feet long 
and two feet deep. Without pausing to rest they 
began carrying water from the kitchen pump to the 
hole. After each bucket of water, they shoveled in 
a layer of earth. Before long the path was once 
more level, but for three feet it had been turned 
into a shivering quagmire. The children now 
strewed dust over the mud, and smoothed it off so 
that it might look as much like the rest of the path 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 

as possible. Then they regarded their handiwork 
with grim satisfaction. “ I guess that’ll stop him 
for one night,” said Betty. 

John smiled and nodded. Then he looked up. 
“ Quick! Here he comes! ” he said. 

The children gathered up their tools, dropped 
them out of sight at the side of the house, and as 
Peter Wayland approached, vanished in a clump 
of bushes not far from the gate. 

Peter Wayland was whistling “ Sweet Adeline.” 
He was slightly flat, but cheerful. He glanced 
about keenly for the youngsters as he entered the 
gate, but saw nothing of them. After all he did 
not consider their proclamation of war seriously. 
As the minister strode up the path, still whistling, 
he did not note the three feet of suspiciously smooth 
surface in the path. A moment later his song 
ceased with a dreadful flat, and he pitched forward 
upon his hands and knees in the softest mud he had 
ever met. 

John and Betty clutched each other hysterically 
in the darkness of the bushes, striving to stifle their 
giggles. Peter Wayland was talking under his 
breath. “ It’s those young imps ! ” he muttered 
wrathfully. He rose and took stock of his appear- 
ance. A glance showed him that he was hopelessly 
bespattered from his waist down; a call was out of 
the question. Peter Wayland addressed the ap- 

lOO 


JOHN AND BETTY 

parently empty garden. “ It’s your trick this 
time/’ he said, clearly. “ I’m not going to tell 
your mother. But the first time I meet a certain 
young man alone, he’s going to be sorry.” And 
Mr. Wayland departed majestically. 

When the minister had vanished in the dusk, 
the two conspirators came forth and carefully 
smoothed over the scene of the muddy tragedy. 
They knew the path would be dry and firm by 
morning. Both were highly delighted by the suc- 
cess of their first plot, but as they turned to go into 
the house Betty gave John a serious look. “ I 
think I’d watch out for him for a while,” she ad- 
vised. “ He sounded good and mad.” 

John chuckled. “ I’ll watch out all right,” he 
promised. 

The rest of the week passed without excitement, 
and without any further effort on Peter Wayland’s 
part to “bother around.” The children almost 
hoped that he acknowledged himself defeated. 
But when Sunday morning dawned bright and 
clear, and they found themselves confronted with 
the necessity of going to Sunday School, doubts re- 
vived. At Sunday School they would undoubtedly 
meet Mr. Wayland. Both shrank from the en- 
counter, 

Betty was combing her hair while John washed 
noisily. Betty finished carefully smoothing a curl. 

lOI 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OE 

Then, “ I don’t think I feel so awf’ly good,” she 
stated in a carrying tone. 

Across the hall John raised his dripping face 
from the wash bowl. ‘‘ Huh? What’sa matter? ” 

Betty laid down the comb. “ I don’t feel well 
enough to go to Sunday School. I — I gotta cold.” 
She coughed as evidence. 

John reflected deeply. Then, “ My throat feels 
kinda funny this morning. I guess I got a cold 
too.” He hawked experimentally. 

Betty sniffed an attractive odor of broiling bacon 
and hot biscuits that arose from below stairs. 
“ Let’s not cough too much ’til after breakfast,” 
she suggested wisely. 

“ All right. I’ll beat you down.” 

You will not.” 

And there followed a wild scramble ending in a 
tie. 

A little later Mother was very much surprised to 
find that these two healthy appearing young peo- 
ple, who had just broken all records for the size of 
breakfast consumed, were really invalids. Both 
had a very convincing cough. Betty was far too 
wise to suggest to Mother that she felt too ill for 
Sunday School, but after about the twelfth cough. 
Mother declared against it herself. Mother got 
down from the shelf a big bottle of Aunt Mary’s 
cough remedy. John grinned with pleasure; both 
102 


JOHN AND BETTY 


children loved the syrupy stuff. Mother dosed 
them liberally and she set down the gradual cessa- 
tion of coughing to the excellent action of the medi- 
cine. Really Aunt Mary ought to patent that 
remedy; it was remarkable how quickly it acted. 

The invalids recovered so fast that Mother de- 
cided it was not necessary for her to stay home 
from church on their account. She left them sit- 
ting on the front porch. They watched her down 
the road. “We ought to have stayed sick a little 
longer,” said Betty sadly. “ Now he’ll have a 
chance to talk to her.” 

“ Oh, well, he can’t say much with all the ladies 
crowding around.” 

“ N-no, I s’pose not.” 

“ What’ll we do ’til Mamma gets back? ” 

“ We might go for a walk. Oh, I know. There’s 
a secret. I’ll take you, and ask him if I can 
tell.” 

John fairly boiled over with curiosity on the way 
to the King’s palace, but Betty kept her word; she 
would not tell without permission. At last they 
arrived, and Betty looked through the gate. There 
was no one in sight. The children waited quite a 
long time, but not a soul appeared except another 
man in one of the white uniforms. Betty won- 
dered what kind of a duke he might be, but she was 
afraid to speak to him after the King’s warning. 

103 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 


At last the children started home, John very dis- 
satislSed. In the masculine fashion, he insisted on 
stating that there was no fascinating secret, just 
because Betty wouldn’t tell him what it was. 

The children walked home by the road that ran 
past the duck pond and down through the woods. 
Presently John forgot his grievance about the se- 
cret and proceeded to air a new accomplishment. 
He whistled through his front teeth, producing 
notes much like those of a robin. A red-breasted 
fellow poised on a fence-post perked his head this 
way and that looking for the songster. Betty tried 
to imitate, but accomplished only an ugly hissing 
sound, which frightened the robin away. John 
laughed. In self-defense the little girl whistled 
with her lips, “ Bob White, Bob White.” A Bob 
White answered from a near-by field. 

“ Oh, anybody can fool a Bob White,” said John. 

Betty ignored the remark. There is no use ar- 
guing with some people. 

The children were passing the duck pond now. 
They sniffed the air. The breeze passing over the 
water had that tang which means good fishing. 
Betty paused. ‘‘ I guess if you caught all the fish 
in there, and sold them, you’d make about a million 
dollars.” 

John was interested. “ If I had a million dol- 
lars, I’d buy a bicycle and a gallon of ice-cream.” 

104 


JOHN AND BETTY 


“ I’d get a new dress for Mamma, and — and a 
yellow cat.” 

John continued. “And I’d have a dog and a 

horse, and lots of haymows to play in, and ” 

Betty interrupted. “ Bobby says Farmer Mann 
has a lovely haymow. We might ask Mamma to 
let us go over some time.” 

J ohn nodded. Then a sudden thought appeared 
to strike him. “ If Peter Wayland married 
Mamma, what relation would Bobby be to us? ” 

“ Well, he isn’t going to, so what difference does 
it make?” 

“ I know he isn’t, but just supposing? ” 

Betty knit her brows and thought hard. 

“ Daddy’s brother is our Uncle John, so I guess 
he’d be a kind of step-uncle.” 

John frowned. “ Wouldn’t he be stuck up 
though, if he was our uncle? ” 

His sister agreed. “ Yes, there’d be no living 
with him.” 

“ He’s got to be on our side about this, or else 
we’ll have to stop playing with him.” 

Betty looked rather alarmed. After all, Bobby 
was their only satisfactory playmate. But of 
course, it would be wrong to encourage Bobby to 
be their stuck up uncle. She suggested that they ' 
sound his feelings on the subject when next they 
met. Then if Bobby could not be convinced of the 
105 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 

true course of thought, they might let him severely 
alone for a time, until he came to his senses. 

The children were about two blocks from home, 
when they saw a group of six or seven little boys 
coming up from the brick row. Generally John 
and Betty ignored these children, except for keep- 
ing a sharp eye out for a slyly flung stone. They 
were not permitted to play with “ bad ” boys. But 
this time Betty saw that they were carrying some- 
thing, and drawn by curiosity, she went nearer. A 
dog was following the little crowd, yapping ex- 
citedly. 

“ What have you got? ” called Betty. 

A small boy with a grimy face held up some- 
thing furry and yellow. “ It’s my kitty,” he said. 
“ My Mom won’t have ’im any more. She says he 
ain’t no good, so we’re gonna give ’im to Brownie.” 
He smiled in anticipatory glee, and Brownie barked 
and snapped excitedly. 

The little girl’s heart fluttered. A yellow 
kitten! And they were going to give it to the dog 
to kill! Any kind of kitten was too good for such 
an end — but a yellow one! Betty smiled falsely. 
“ Let me see him just a minute, will you? ” she 
asked. 

The boy handed him over proudly for inspection. 
The kitten nestled down into Betty’s soft arms 
confidingly. ‘‘ He’s an awfully nice kitty,” 
io6 


JOHN AND BETTY 

said the little girl, “ever so much too nice to 
kill.” 

The boy became suspicious. “ Here! You just 
give ’im back. He’s mine, an’ I’ve a right t’ do 
what I likes with ’im.” 

The other boys, fearing interference with their 
innocent pleasure, muttered approval, and shuffled 
nearer. 

Betty flashed a glance at John. “ Guard! ” she 
snapped, and quick as a wink she had turned and 
was bolting doAvn the street. 

The boys shouted and made after her. But the 
first of them fell over John’s outstretched foot. 
Three more tripped over the fallen one, and the 
rest were blockaded for a moment. John fled. 
The children were almost to the gate, but the boys 
were gaining fast, when they perceived Mother 
approaching with Mr. Waylancl. There was no 
chance to turn and escape. John tripped a boy, 
who was about to seize Betty, flung open the gate 
and tried to cover her escape to the house. But 
in a moment the pursuers were upon them. John 
punched and his sister kicked valiantly, but the 
odds were too heavy. 

At that moment Peter Wayland ran up and laid 
about him with his cane. Several boys rushed to a 
distance howling, the rest drew back. “ What’s all 
this? ” he demanded. 


107 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 


Betty showed the kitten. Her dress was torn, 
and there were black and blue spots growing on her 
arms, but she had carried the little creature through 
safely. The little girl found her throat oddly 
choked up, and though she knew it was babyish to 
cry, there were tears rolling down her cheeks. 
“ They were g-going to g-give it to the d-dog,’' she 
gasped. 

The minister’s face flushed. “ The little brutes! ” 
he said. 

The boys fled discreetly. 

“ Bring it into the house, dear,” said Mother. 
“ It must be dreadfully frightened.” 

Set down on the kitchen floor the kitten pro- 
ceeded to make himself at home. He examined all 
the furniture very carefully with his pink nose, 
and registered his approval with a pleased expres- 
sion. Then he rubbed against his rescuer’s ankles 
and purred ingratiatingly. Betty stroked his thin 
sides gently. “ Don’t you think he’s pretty. 
Mamma? ” she asked proudly. 

Mother appeared doubtful. “ He might be, if 
he looked a little less like a living skeleton. I think 
he’d better have some milk.” 

Betty ran for the milk jar, and heated a big 
saucerful. The kitten watched eagerly, and as the 
task was completed he mewed plaintively. “ Little 
Tommy Tucker, singing for his supper,” chanted 
108 


JOHN AND BETTY 

Betty, as she set the saucer on the floor for 
him. “ Only it’s really lunch,” she added. “ I 
think Tommy Tucker would be a nice name for 
him.” 

John agreed and Mother made no objection, so 
the vote was passed. 

Tommy Tucker proved himself a perfect gentle- 
man. He was evidently starving, but he did not 
gobble his dinner. He lapped the milk all up 
daintily, taking care not to wet his whiskers, and 
then he polished the saucer. Next he sat up, and 
though he was so weak that he could hardly balance 
himself, he took a painstaking bath from nose to 
tail. 

Betty made a bed for Tommy with a basket and 
an old blanket in one corner of the kitchen, and 
when he had finished his toilet, he curled up and 
went sound asleep. 

After luncheon, John and Betty held a consul- 
tation on the situation of the war. Both felt that 
Peter Wayland’s efficient defense of Tommy 
Tucker had somewhat altered matters. It is diffi- 
cult to remain in the position of an enemy toward 
someone who has just done you a big favor. At 
the same time the children’s feeling had not 
changed in the least in regard to the question of 
stepfathers. At last they decided to put it up to 
Mr. Wayland himself. If he would stop trying to 
109 


JOHN AND BETTY 


be their stepfather, then they would no longer try 
to keep hiin from being it. This arrangement ap- 
peared to them sweetly reasonable. 


no 


CHAPTER X 


REPENTANCE 

It was only the next afternoon that the children 
met Peter Wayland down-town. The minister’s 
eyes lighted at sight of them. He took a long step 
forward, and seized John firmly by the shoulder. 
“ If it weren’t for yesterday, I’d give jmu a good 
thrashing for that trick you played on me, young 
man,” he said. 

John’s features oozed innocence. ‘‘What 
trick? ” 

The minister gave him a little shake. “ That 
patch of mud. It never got into a perfectlj^ dry 
path by accident.” 

Betty caught her brother’s cue. “ O-oh! You 
mean the castle moat. We thought it looked as if 
someone had stepped in it,” with a little smile of 
pleased recollection. 

“ S-stepped in it! ” he spluttered. 

“ You see,” gently, “ John and I often play 
castle, and you have to have a moat. We didn’t 
know you’d walk in it — at least J ohn told you not 
to come.” 

Peter Wayland flushed veiy red. “ When 

III 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 

I’m your father, you are going to learn not to be 
impertinent to your elders.” 

Betty lost her temper; not an infrequent thing 
for her. When she was born, she had had bright 
red fuzz all over her head. Flaxen curls had re- 
placed it later, much to Mother’s relief, but a red- 
headed temper had remained. The little girl 
stamped her foot. ‘‘ You’re not our father, an’ 
you’re never going to be, an’ you let J ohn go, or — 
or ” She looked around furiously for an al- 

ternative. 

Mr. Wayland decided that he was going the 
wrong way about things. He took his hand from 
John’s shoulder, and spoke in a tone of calm rea- 
son. “ Betty,” he said, “ why don’t you want me 
for a stepfather? ” 

But Betty was beyond the appeal of reason. 

’Cause — ’cause I hate you, an’ you’re horrid! So 
there! ” And she ran away raging. 

John was much affected by his sister’s emotion. 
He doubled up his fists and faced the minister 
firmly. “ You let my sister alone,” he said, “ or — 
or I’ll punch you one!” And he marched away 
with dignity. 

Peter Wayland removed his straw hat and 
rumpled the brown curls, which were secretly ad- 
mired by many ladies of his congregation. He 
was frankly perplexed. He admitted he did not 

II2 


JOHN AND BETTY 

imdersiand child psychology; not this kind. 
Bobby had always been so easy to get on with, but 
this little tornado ! And the children had managed 
to make him feel as if he were the one in the wrong, 
while it was quite evident that they were the ones 
really at fault. The minister spent a considerable 
amount of time puzzling over the situation. 
Finally he decided that the only way to handle a 
woman, young or old, was through conciliation. 
The rights of the case had nothing whatever to do 
with it. A lady was always right — in her own 
opinion. 

Mr. Wayland stopped at the drug-store, and 
purchased a pretty little box of chocolates. Candy 
has always been used to soothe angry ladies. Then 
after considerable hesitation over different styles 
of boxes, the minister picked out a large box of 
bonbons, which he felt was in sufficiently good 
taste, and at the same time handsome enough to be 
in some degree worthy of Mrs. Stamford. 

Meantime Betty ran home raging all the way. 
Nothing short of violence would be a sufficient re- 
venge in her present mood. She hurried into the 
kitchen, picked up two large potato baskets, and 
rushed out into the orchard with them. J ohn fol- 
lowed. Betty began to fill one of the baskets with 
green apples and pears, that had been blown down 
by the wind. John did the same with the other. 

113 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 

Before it was time to get supper for Mother, the 
children had both baskets piled full, and hidden 
in a clump of bushes at one side of the garden 
path. 

“If he comes again to-night, we’ll show him!’* 
said Betty vindictively. 

John looked thoughtful. “ Suppose Mamma 
finds out? ” he asked. 

The little girl scowled. “ If she does, we’ll just 
tell her what he’s up to,” she said. 

That evening directly after supper, Peter Way- 
land started on his peace expedition. The sun was 
still up, and the birds were whistling and twittering 
overtime through the long July evening. Mr. 
Wayland did not feel like battle; he was glad that 
he had thought of a way of making peace with his 
small enemy. The Stamfords’ garden looked very 
quiet, as he swung oj)en the gate. Evidenth^ the 
children were in the house. However, the castle 
moat had left its impression upon the minister’s 
memory, for as he entered, he did not tread upon 
the path, but on the grass at one side. 

At that moment a hail of green fruit beat upon 
Peter Wayland’s tall form. John was probably as 
fast a thrower as any boy in the countryside. 
Betty was certainly the superior of any girl. Both 
of them had perfected the art through long prac- 
tice. An apple carried away the minister’s hat; a 
114 


JOHN AND BETTI 


pear, directed with the full force of John’s right 
arm, caught him in the neck; a specially hard speci- 
men struck his shin; all this before he could turn. 
But Mr. Wayland was no coward. He forgot 
about the peace mission, turned, and charged the 
battery with a shout. He was quite close when an 
apple thrown by Betty hit him in the eye. It 
struck rotten side front, but the result was painful 
as well as unpleasant. 

Peter Wayland paused a moment to clap his 
handkerchief to his injured eye, and wipe it clear. 
His opponents seized the opportunity to escape. 
Before the angry man could catch them, they were 
over the garden fence, and running across the 
neighboring field. 

It was now that a new factor entered the com- 
bination, for Farmer Mann’s bull had been put in 
that field to graze only that morning. Betty had 
forgotten her red hair ribbon and sailor tie until 
she saw the bull look up, shake his horns, and start 
toward her at a trot. Peter Wayland saw the dan- 
ger at the same minute. He paused on top of the 
fence. “ Come back! ” he shouted anxiousl^^ 

But Betty saw a tree no farther away than the 
; fence, and a mischievous gleam came into her eyes. 
“ The tree! ” she whispered to John, and bolted for 
it. 

A moment later Betty was scrambling up, 

115 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 

boosted vigorously by her brother. The little girl 
gripped hold, crouched, and reached down one 
hand to help John in turn. It was then that she 
saw out of the tail of her eye something that she 
had not counted on. The bull had stopped trot- 
ting. He was charging head down at a tremen- 
dous pace, and he was almost ui^on them. Betty 
gave a frantic jerk at her brother’s hand, that al- 
most brought her down to share his danger. But 
somehow she kept hold, and he made the limb, just 
as the bull charged past with a roar. 

Peter Way land paused part way across the field, 
where he had been dashing to the rescue. “ Thank 
heaven!” he murmured. Then, “Wretched little 
imps ! ” He meant both exclamations. 

John and Betty climbed quickly to a thick 
branch higher up, where they were quite safe for 
the time being. The bull tossed his head, tore up 
the earth with his feet, and bellowed his disap- 
pointment. Then he spied the minister. Even a 
parson would do as an enemy in his present frame 
of mind, and the bull started for him. The chil- 
dren chuckled at the undignified haste with which 
Mr. Wayland flew back over the fence. The bull 
roared defiance across the fence, and then returned 
to take up his guard under the tree. 

“Do you s’pose he’ll watch all night?” asked 
Betty, beginning to feel a little anxious. 

ii6 


JOHN AND BETTI 


John shook his head doubtfully. “ I guess he’d 
go to sleep, and we could slip away. Anyhow it’s 
worth it,” and he smiled reflectively. 

Meantime the bull’s bellows had brought Mother 
hurrying out just in time to see Peter Way land 
leap over the fence. She turned pale. “ Why, Mr. 
Mann said the bull wasn’t dangerous at all!” she 
cried. 

The minister turned toward her a face decorated 
by a slowly purpling eye. “ He wouldn’t be, if he 
hadn’t seen Betty’s red ribbons.” 

A look of wild anxiety came into Mother’s face. 
She stared all around. Then she wrung her hands 
and hastened toward the fence. “ Oh, where is my 
little girl? ” she cried. 

Peter Wayland forcibly restrained her from 
crossing the fence, while the bull looked in their 
direction with an interested expression. “ She’s all 
right,” he insisted. “ They’re both up in the tree 
and perfectly safe.” 

Betty saw Mother at the fence, and waved her 
handkerchief to reassure her. Mother waved back 
vigorously, while she heaved a sigh of relief. 
“ Hold on tight ! ” she called. Then a fresh anx- 
iety assailed her. “ Oh, dear! ” she cried. “ Sup- 
pose one of them should slip and fall! ” 

“ No danger! ” soothed Mr. Wayland. “ Be- 
sides, I can lure the beast over to the other side of 

117 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 


the field, and that will give the children time to 
climb down and get over the fence.” 

But Mother shook her head vigorously. ‘‘ I 
wouldn’t dare; just think if they shouldn’t make 
it!” 

The minister, recalling the youngsters’ monkey- 
like speed, had no doubts, but Mother was not to 
be persuaded. “ No,” she said. “ You must go 
call Mr. Mann. He can drive the bull off, if any- 
one can.” And Mother cried a little. 

Now everyone knows that it’s perfectly impos- 
sible to argue with a pretty lady when she cries, so 
Peter Wayland set off across the fields to Farmer 
Mann’s. But Mr. Wayland’s irritation caused 
him to do a foolish thing. He scorned to walk clear 
around the bull’s field, when Mrs. Stamford was 
watching him, so he cut across one corner of it. 
The bull set out for him briskly. The minister 
stalked along firml}’^ for a few moments, but he had 
to finish at an undignified gallop. The two little 
rascals in the tree chuckled delightedly as the black 
coat tails flopped over the fence, but Mother hardly 
noticed. All her attention was centred upon the 
tree. 

Peter Wajdand found Mr. Mann seated on his 
front porch, reading the paper in the last rays of 
the setting sun. The farmer listened to the min- 
ister’s brief statement. Then he removed his clav 

ii8 


JOHN AND BETTY 

pipe from his mouth and spoke. “ Is them Jlrs. 
Stamford’s kids thet you’re tellin’ about? ” 

Mr, Way land nodded. 

Farmer Mann stood up with a jerk, and laid his 
paper down on the seat of his chair. He delivered 
the milk every morning, and, like every other man 
who saw the children’s mother, he found 'Mrs. 
Stamford entirely charming. “ I’ll be right over,” 
said Mr. Mann. “ I reckon she’ll be clean scairt 
to death.” He did not mention whether he meant 
Betty or her mother. 

When Farmer Mann had set off at a run, carry- 
ing a pitchfork, Peter Way land felt gingerly of 
his injured eye, and the sore place on his neck, and 
then with a wry grimace he started homeward. It 
was not ’til then that he realized that he was still 
carrying the boxes of candy firmly clutched under 
one arm. He paused and looked back. Then 
slowly he turned and started once more across the 
fields. 

The bull had been driven ignominiously away to 
a far distant pasture, and Mother was hugging her 
rescued offspring, when Mr. Wayland once more 
arrived. “ Thank you so much for calling Mr. 
Mann,” said Mother gratefully. Then she re- 
garded the minister more closely. “ Why, what 
ever is the matter with your eye? ” she asked. 

Peter Wayland scowled at Betty, and that 
119 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 

young lady wriggled uncomfortably, “ It got hit 
with something,” he said. The little girl heaved a 
sigh of relief; he hadn’t told after all. 

‘‘I should say it had!” said Mother. “Come 
right in the house and let me bathe it, and put on 
something to stop the swelling. It will be a dread- 
ful sight, if it keeps on like that.” 

The minister began to feel almost glad Betty had 
hit him, since his sad state had aroused Mother’s 
sympathy. “All right,” he agreed. “But first 
here are a couple of things I brought over for you 
and Betty.” And he held out the boxes of candy. 

Mother accepted hers with polite admiration for 
his good taste and kindness, but Betty stared at her 
box as if it were the head of Medusa, which turned 
all spectators to stone. A crowd of thoughts and 
emotions were rushing through her little head. It 
was this man, whom she had given a mud bath, to 
whom she had talked horridly, whom she had given 
a black eye, and caused to be chased by a bull; and 
he brought her candy, the most precious thing in 
the world to a person with a sweet tooth ! He was 
heaping coals of fire with a vengeance, for it was 
not just a bag of sweets but a whole beautiful box, 
which he had brought. 

Betty gulped and two large tears rolled down • 
her cheeks. The gulp turned into a sob, and with 
a subdued howl of anguish she turned and fled into 
120 


JOHN AND BETTY 


the house. The minister was surprised, though he 
probably understood, but Mother was astonished. 
Mother hurried into the house after Betty, but the 
little girl had already fled up-stairs to her room, 
and sounds of sorrow issued faintly through the 
door she had just slammed. IMother paused at the 
foot of the stairs, divided between anxiety about 
her daughter, and duty toward her guest. Pres- 
ently she decided in favor of the latter, and with a 
puzzled sigh she ushered Peter Way land into the 
parlor. “ Betty is such a strange child. I can’t 
understand her,” she said. 

The minister felt his swollen eye, and smiled a 
little grimly. “ I’ll leave the candy on the table for 
her,” he said. 

Mother bathed the eye gently, and then she 
brought a piece of ice wrapped in a soft cloth, and 
bade him hold it to the swelling until it began to 
go down. 

Peter Way land watched Mother tenderly from 
his good eye, while he held the ice to the other. It 
seemed to him that Mother was looking daily more 
tired and frail, though he was sure she could never 
appear less charming. The trying July weather 
had drawn blue shadows under her bright eyes, and 
her slim wrists seemed thinner than they should be. 
The minister shifted nervously in his chair. “ See 
here, Mrs. Stamford,” he said, ‘‘ that work in the 

I2I 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 

city every day is getting too hard for you. I think 
it’s high time you dropped it.” 

Mother raised her brows with an amused expres- 
sion. “ Well, one must eat, you know.” 

Mr. Wayland leaned forAvard earnestly, forget- 
ting all about the ice for his eye. “ Let me take 
care of you, Bett\%” he said. “I’d do anything in 
the world I could for you and the children.” 

Mother flushed damask rose. “ Don’t be ab- 
surd,” she replied. “ And if you don’t hold that 
ice on your eye, I won’t be responsible for how it 
will look in the morning.” 

“Bother the ice!” said Peter Wayland, drop- 
ping the cloth on the floor, and rising abruptly. 
He walked over ’til he stood just in front of 
Mother. “ Marry me, Betty,” he pleaded, taking 
her slender little hands in his, “ and I can make 
everything easy for you, and — and the children will 
have Bobby to play Avith all the time, and ” 

Noav little Betty Avas her mother’s oAvn daughter 
so far as independence of spirit Avas concerned. If 
Peter Wayland had begged Mother to take care of 
him, he Avould have touched her tender heart. As 
it AA^as he outraged her pride dreadfully. Mother 
jerked her liands aAvay and interrupted him rather 
sharply. “ I’m sure John and Betty already play 
Avith Bobby as much as could possibly be good for 
so meek a child,” she said. 

122 


JOHN AND BETTY 


The minister flushed. ‘‘ Bobby isn’t meek,” he 
defended. “ He’s only wdl-behaved and obedient.” 

This was as much as to say that Mother’s little 
angels were not so, and that, after they had just 
escaped with their lives from a frightful situation. 
Mother’s eyes flashed. “ Bobby is too good,” she 
declared. “ He hasn’t the spirit of a kitten.” 

Peter Wayland saw his mistake. “ Bobby is not 
the question, anyway,” he said. “ It’s simply this. 
Will you marry me? ” 

“ I will not,” replied Mother, with spirit. 

“ Do you mean that? ” demanded Mr. Wayland, 
heatedly. 

Mother gasped. “ Certainly I do! ” 

Peter Wayland strode out of the house without 
another word. When he had gone, some of the 
color faded out of Mother’s cheeks. She appeared 
less angry; perhaps she was even a little sorry. 
But then he had really been quite impossibly mas- 
terful and disagreeable; she stiffened again. But 
Mother would really have felt a little sorry, if she 
could have seen the dejected droop of the young 
minister’s shoulders, as he swung the garden gate 
to behind him. 

Presently Mother remembered Betty and her 
odd conduct. She turned resolutely, as if putting 
away a difficult subject, and ran up-stairs to see 
what was the matter with the child. ^Mother 
123 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 

opened the door softly. The little girl was lying 
on her cot bed, all rolled uj) in a ball like a cater- 
pillar when one touches its head. Her face was 
bun’owed into her folded arms, and none of it 
showed except a narrow strip of pink cheek. Now 
and again a convulsive sob shook her. 

Mother closed the door gently, and came and sat 
on the edge of the bed. She put her arms aromid 
the child soothingly. “ What is the matter, dear? ” 
she asked. 

Betty sniffed mournfully. Then, “ L-lots.” 
She sobbed. 

Mother hugged her closer. “ Come, tell me why 
you’re crying, sweetheart.” 

Betty snuggled up, and hid her flushed face on 
Mother’s sympathetic breast. “ It’s ’cause I was 
horrid to him — an’ muddied him — an’ blacked his 
eye — an’ everything, an’ ” — sob — “ then he 
brought me candy! ” She wailed afresh. 

Mother stiffened with horror. “ Who? ” she 
asked, with a dreadful foreboding. 

“ P-Peter Wayland.” 

Then he had been right in his criticism and she 
wrong. He had been the most magnanimous of 
men, tried to the extreme. But instead of the jus- 
tification of Mr. Wayland making her feel glai it 
made her unaccountably angry. It is very un- 
pleasant to feel oneself in the wrong, and we are 
124 


JOHN AND BETTY 


apt to blame the one toward whom we have been 
unjust. Mother found her voice again. “ Why 
did you do those dreadful things, Betty?” she 
asked. 

“ ’C-cause he wanted to be our horrid s-stepfa- 
ther — an’ J ohn told him he couldn’t, an’ he said he 
would, an’ we were trying to stop him.” 

All at once Mother had a ridiculous desire to 
laugh. “ But don’t you see it was my part to stop 
him? ” she asked. 

Betty sniffed. “We didn’t want him bothering 
you.” 

For no reason at all Mother sighed. “ Well, 
I’ve told him that he’s never going to be — your 
stepfather, so you mustn’t think any more about 
it.” Betty brightened. “ Now tell me just what 
you and John did do.” 

The little girl unfolded the whole sad tale. 
Mother was alternately amused and shocked. 
When the story was finished. Mother talked very 
seriously to Betty about the way to act toward 
grown-ups, and she made the little girl promise to 
tell her all about it, before ever starting another war 
against anybody. Also Mother told Betty that she 
must go over to Mr. Wayland’s in the morning, re- 
turn the candy, and apologize for the things she 
had done. 

Betty did not mind apologizing. When she was 
125 


JOHN AND BETTY 


really sorry for anj^thing she had done, she fairly 
reveled in confession. But taking back the candy 
was a real punishment. Still she promised. 


126 


CHAPTER XI 


A ROYAL FUGITIVE 

When Betty arrived with the candy the next 
moming, she found Mr. Wayland sitting on his 
porch, pretending to read the paper with his one 
good eye; a bandage was over the other. But 
really he was staring off into space with the sulky 
expression of a spoiled little boy, who thinks that 
he is very much abused. As Betty mounted the 
steps, he looked toward her, and pretended to 
wince. “ Well, have you got any more apples to 
throw? ” he asked in a disagreeable tone. “ I’ve 
still got another eye you could blacken.” 

The little girl flushed. “ I’m sorry I hit you, 
and I brought back the box of candy, b-because I 
don’t deserve it.” Her lips quivered. 

“ For pity’s sake don’t start crying again,” said 
the minister hastily, and appearing a little molli- 
fied. ‘‘ I’m the one who ought to do the crying, 
since it was my eye that got hit.” 

Betty regarded the bandage with interest. “ Is 
it very bad? ” she asked. 

“ It’s a beauty, and I have a dickens of a time 
trying to explain to everybody how I got it. They 
127 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 

swallow what I say, and then they wink. They’re 
all sure I was in a fight, and a minister isn’t sup- 
posed to fight. You’ve ruined my reputation, 
Betty.” 

The little girl’s eyes twinkled. “ I’m sony. 
Anyway, here’s the candy.” And she held out the 
box. 

Peter Wayland looked uncomfortable. “ Oh, 
well, you might as well keep that now. Lots of 
people get things they don’t deserve.” 

“ Mamma said I had to give it back,” insisted 
Betty, firmly. 

“ Then hand it over.” She did so, but without 
enthusiasm. She had not even seen the inside of 
that beautiful box. The minister watched her 
sharply. He balanced the box on his broad palm. 
“ Now you’ve done what your mother told you, 
haven’t you? ” 

Betty nodded sadly. 

“ But she didn’t say I couldn’t give it back again 
afterward, did she? ” 

It was as if a sunbeam had struck across a cloudy 
sky. The little girl’s face suddenly shone brightly, 
as she slowly shook her head. “ No.” 

“ Well, I’m giving it to you over again,” and he 
held out the box. 

Betty accepted delightedly, and no longer able 
to resist its attractiveness, she tore open the box at 

128 


JOHN AND BETTY 

once. With difficulty remembering to be polite, 
she offered it to the minister first. He accepted, 
and a moment later a piece had popped into 
Betty’s own mouth. It’s awfly good,” she said, 
with her mouth full. 

“ Glad you like it,” replied Peter Wayland po- 
litely. He realized that at last peace was entirely 
restored. 

Betty was silent a moment from pure pleasure. 
Then she spoke. “ The funny thing is that we 
needn’t have tried to stop you at all. Mamma was 
going to her own self.” 

The minister appeared not to see the joke. He 
glowered. 

The little girl observed him closely. “ Does it 
make 3^011 feel bad? ” she asked. 

“ How would you feel if \^our mother told you 
she wouldn’t be your mamma any more, and j^ou’d 
have to live with somebod\^ else?” 

‘‘ She wouldn’t! ” replied Betty with conviction. 

“ But suppose she did? ” 

The little girl’s active imagination set to work. 

I guess I’d feel awful bad.” 

“ So do I.” 

Betty wrinkled her forehead in profound 
thought. Then, “ But she’s not your mamma.” 

Peter Wayland sighed with exasperation. ‘‘ It’s 
all the same thing, if you love anybod^^” 

129 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 

“ Then it’s silly to love anybody,” replied the 
little girl, unsympathetically, as she bit into a de- 
licious marshmallow. 

“ That’s right, hit a man when he’s down. I 
knew you hadn’t any sense of fair play.” 

“ I’m not, and I have so,” indignantly. “ Be- 
sides, you’re not down, are you?” 

“ Do I look up? ” 

Betty inspected his gloomy face. “ N-no, you 
don’t.” 

Peter Way land stared out across the sunny 
lawn. His expression was such as one wears at a 
particularly painful funeral. 

Betty thrust the rest of the box of candy into her 
capacious pocket. She always insisted on extra 
large pockets in all her dresses. She advanced to 
the steps, and then paused to glance back. “ I’m 
sorry,” she said. She spoke with that cheerful 
sympathy which one displays toward the sorrows 
of others. 

“ Thank you,” said Peter Wayland. 

It was a few days later that Betty decided to 
really start a weekly candy route. Mother lent her 
the five dollars, as she had promised, and Dan or- 
dered the candy. John helped her sell it as before, 
but this time she only trusted him with a couple of 
dollars’ worth, as she had greater faith in her own 
powers of salesmanship. Betty covered the old 
130 


JOHN AND BETTY 

route, stopping at all the houses where she had 
promised to return. The gi'ouchy old man seemed 
really quite pleased to see her again, and the little 
girl assured the plump Miss Ellen and the tall Miss 
Mary that she had a yellow kitty now almost just 
like Boots, only not nearly so big. 

Betty had taken her luncheon with her, and she 
sat down under a big tree by the roadside to eat it 
before going on to the King’s. She felt quite sure 
that he would buy the rest of her twelve boxes, if 
he should happen to be about. Betty threw bits of 
bread from her sandwiches to a squirrel, and ex- 
changed grimaces with him while he ate them. She 
felt very well satisfied with herself and the world. 
As she set off down the road again, her pocketful 
of change jingled cheerfully. 

When the little girl arrived at the palace 
grounds, she peeped eagerly through the grated 
gate. At first she thought the King was not there, 
for she did not see him under the tree where he had 
been before. But presently she spied him in his 
chair a little farther up the avenue on the other 
side. He was reading a book, and the Duke was 
nowhere in sight. 

Betty pushed the gate open a few inches and 
slipped through. The King did not hear her soft 
footfalls until she stood before him. He glanced 
up quickly, then smiled and closed his book. 

131 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 

“Well, well!” he said. “I thought you were 
never coming back.” 

Betty was delighted to be remembered by 
royalty. “ I did come back once, your majesty,” 
she said, “ but I didn’t see you.” 

His majesty sighed. “ No, the Duke doesn’t 
let me come out by myself very often; he’s much 
too officious. He pretends he’s anxious about my 
health, but really he’s trying to get rid of me.” 

The little girl’s eyes opened wide. “ He ‘ 
wouldn’t dare! ” 

But the King nodded sadly. “ I’m afraid he 
would.” 

Betty frowned, and thought deeply. This reve- 
lation of the intrigues of royal courts shocked her, 
though she admitted that she should have expected 
it, after all the Shakespearean plays ^Mother had 
read to her and John. The people in King Lea?' 
and Richard Third had all done things just as bad. 

The King looked all around carefully for eaves- 
droppers; then he leaned forward and whispered: 

“ I’m quite sure now that it was the Duke of 
Gloucester, who killed the Queen and the Prince, 
too.” He leaned back to observe the effect of the 
communication. 

Betty was much distressed. “ How dreadful! ” 

“ And now he wants to kill me, so he will be king 
instead.” 


132 


JOHN AND BETTI 


“You ought to get back to England right 
away,” advised Betty, “and tell the people what 
he’s doing, and they’d stop him.” 

“ That’s what I want to do, but he won’t let me 
have enough money to go, and while I was writing 
to the treasuiy, and waiting for money to come 
from England, he’d catch me and shut me up 
again.” 

“ Why don’t you stay at our house? He’d never 
catch you there.” 

But the King shook his head. “ No, it wouldn’t 
do for so many people to know, and he’d be sure to 
look there. But I might hide in the woods, if you 
would mail my letter, and bring me food.” 

Betty was delighted to be of service to royalty. 
Also the idea of camping out appealed to her 
strongly. “ I know a dandy woods, where you 
could stay, and they’d never find you,” she said. 
“ But couldn’t John help? He’s my brother, and 
he’d be lots of help watching out.” 

The King thought a minute and then consented. 
“ But he must promise never to tell anybody until 
I’m safe home,” he stipulated. 

Betty agreed gladly. It would be so much more 
fun with John to share the secret. She felt quite 
weighted down with so much responsibility all to 
herself. 

The King bought the rest of the candy. Then he 
133 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 

gave Betty five dollars more to get provisions for 
the camp. They were all to meet at the old boat on 
the lake just after dark the next evening. His 
majesty was to manage to slip away, while every- 
one was at dinner, and he was to have the letter to 
the treasury ready for Betty to mail. 

Betty trotted home fairly hopping with excite- 
ment. She could hardly wait until she got John 
out into the privacy of the orchard, and after mak- 
ing him “ cross his heart and hope to die,” she told 
him all about it. At first John susi)ected that his 
sister was playing a joke on him, but finally he was 
convinced of her sincerity. Then he was almost 
as excited as she. After Mother was asleep, they 
lay awake half the night talking in stage whispers 
across the hall. 

The next day the children spent busily building a 
camp in the woods. John chopped a quantity of 
branches and built a fine pile ready to be lighted in 
the evening. Betty gathered a great heap of clean 
dry leaves, and spread blankets over it to make a 
bed. It was really quite comfortable when fin- 
ished, even if it did rustle dreadfully, if you turned 
over. Then the children turned their attention to 
the boat. They bailed out as much water as they 
could, and carefully swept all the spiders out of the 
cabin, for of course the King wasn’t like a prisoner. 
Betty was for taking the old boards off the window, 
134 


JOHN AND BETTY 

and putting up some neat curtains instead, but the 
\vindow faced across the water, and John was 
afraid someone might notice the change from the 
road on the other side. John drove some large 
nails into one side of the cabin, and Betty hung up 
the cooking pans, which she had brought down from 
home. The children also made a shelf out of some 
boards, and on this they arranged the food they 
had bought with the five dollars, and a few dishes. 
On second thought Betty moved the bed from the 
bank into one corner of the cabin, in case of rain. 
Finally they tacked a few bright colored pictures 
around on the walls, to make the plac‘e look home- 
like. The pictures they had cut from magazines 
at home, and in the main these represented all sorts 
of wild animals, with a scattering of cats and dogs. 
At last they stood back, and regarded their handi- 
work with satisfaction. 

“ I guess nobody could build a finer camp than 
that,” said Betty. 

“ And they’ll never think of finding him here,” 
added John. 

Mother was very much surprised when the chil- 
dren insisted on going to bed immediately after 
supper, instead of sitting up until the last possible 
minute, as usual. On coming up-stairs a few min- 
utes later to kiss them good-night, she was still 
more surprised to find them in bed so quickly, and 

135 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 

with the covers drawn up to their necks despite the 
sultriness of a hot July night. Mother tried to in- 
duce Betty to throw her covers over the foot of the 
bed, but the little girl insisted that she needed them. 
However she promised to throw them off, if she 
grew too warm. 

Mother would have felt less puzzled over the 
matter if she could have seen the children slipping 
out of bed, still fully dressed, after she had gone 
down-stairs. Both carried their shoes as they stole 
softly down the back stairs, and out the kitchen 
door. In the orchard they paused to put on their 
shoes, and then they hurried away across the fields 
on the short cut to the woods. They knew they had 
over three hours free, before Mother would be 
starting up to bed, and probably look in at them for 
a good-night peek. They must be home and in bed 
again by that time, or Mother would ask embar- 
rassing questions, that it would be impossible 
to answer without betraying his majesty’s confi- 
dence. 

The King was already there, when the children 
arrived, but he did not say anything about the 
crime of keeping royalty waiting, for which Betty 
was thankful. Betty introduced her brother, and 
his majesty held out his hand in graceful acknowl- 
edgment. John shook hands, and then wondered 
if he should have kissed the King’s hand instead. 
136 


JOHN AND BETTY 

But he decided he didn’t need to, so long as he was 
an American. 

Betty showed the King the arrangements that 
had been made for his comfort, and his majesty 
praised everything highly. But the shelf of food 
attracted most of his attention. When he told the 
children that he had not had any supper, John hur- 
ried to light the fire, while Betty got down pans 
and dishes. When the fire began to burn down to 
embers, the little girl put coffee on to boil. Then 
she ran out to the far end of the boat, and pulled up 
the “ refrigerator.” This was a water-tight box in 
which she and John were in the habit of putting 
bottles of grape juice and other delicacies to cool, 
when they came down fishing. The water was 
deep, and resting on the bottom of the pond, 
the “ refrigerator ” became almost ice cold. It 
was attached to the end of the boat by a light 
rope. 

From the cold box Betty selected a nice piece 
of steak, some cold boiled potatoes she had brought 
from the house, a bottle of cream, and a pat of 
butter. In a few minutes steak and potatoes were 
sizzling on the fire. While they browned, the little 
girl sliced up a saucerful of early peaches. And 
then dinner was ready. His majesty insisted that 
the children share the meal with him, and they did 
so gladly, for they were always hungry. 

m 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 

“ I wish I could live this way all the time,” said 
Betty. 

“ Me too,” agreed John. 

After supper Betty washed up tlie dishes, using 
the simple method of sloshing them around in the 
water from the far end of the boat. Then she 
dried them and set them back on the shelf. This 
done, she felt it was time to be starting home- 
ward, though she was loath to leave the fasci- 
nation of the camp fire, and the unaccustomed 
mystery of the woods at night. The King gave 
her the letter for the treasury, and the little 
girl promised to get a stamp and mail it first 
thing in the morning. Just as the children were 
saying good-night, there came a heavy crash of 
thunder. 

They looked up anxiously. Black clouds had 
swept across the moon, and gathered thick over- 
head. The air was suddenly still and breathless, as 
it is before a storm. A fork of lightning flashed 
across the clouds, and there followed a mighty 
crash, as if all the bass drums in heaven had been 
struck a resounding blow. 

“ It’s a good thing we moved your bed into the 
cabin, your majesty,” said Betty. “ You can keep 
nice and dry there. We’ll have to run now, to get 
home before the storm breaks.” 

But the King did not seem anxious for the chil- 
138 


JOHN AND BETTY 


dren to go. He appeared nervous and distraught. 
If he had not been a monarch, they would have 
thought he was afraid. “ Suppose I should be- 
come ill in the night,’’ he objected. “ Electric 
storms always give me a dreadful headache.” 

“ Well, then,” decided his hostess, “ you must 
come home with us. You’d really be more com- 
fortable there, though of course it’s not as exciting 
to live in a real house, when you’re escaping. 
Mother wouldn’t tell. I’m sure.” 

But his majesty would not hear of telling any- 
one else. “ Isn’t there an outhouse, where I could 
keep dry over night? ” he asked. “ Then I could 
come back to the camp in the morning.” 

“ There’s the barn,” said John. “ There’s noth- 
ing in it but a little straw.” 

‘‘ That would do. Royalty has lived in meaner 
places in an emergency.” 

“ We’ll have to hurry,” urged Betty anxiously, 
or we’ll get soaked. John, you help carry the 
blankets, and lead the way. Your majesty, you 
hold one end of this blanket so you won’t get lost. 
It’s getting awf’ly dark.” 

The King accepted orders meekly, and trotted 
along in Betty’s wake as fast as he could. The old 
man could not make as good speed as the sure- 
footed children, even when they were impeded by 
the weight of the blankets. He stumbled a great 

139 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 


many times, and puffed painfully, but he did not 
complain. 

The first sweep of the storm wind was bending 
the trees, and lashing the grass about their legs, as 
they panted up through the orchard. The little 
party headed toward one side, where the small barn 
stood about a hundred yards back of the house. 
And then the rain came down like hail. Betty 
struggled furiously to unlatch the door, and in a 
moment they were inside. 

The barn had been built to accommodate a single 
horse and carriage, but it had long been disused 
except as a wood house and was quite clean. De- 
spite its age the building was still water-tight. 
There was a heap of straw at one side. Betty 
smoothed it out and laid the blankets over it as a 
bed. The straw was a bit musty, but it would have 
to do. 

She turned. “ We’ll have to run in now, your 
majesty,” she said. “ Mamma will be shutting the 
windows against the rain and find we’re not in bed. 
If you want me, just meow like a cat, and I’ll 
come quick’s I can. Good-night.” And without 
more ceremony, they dashed for the house. 

Fortunately Mother had not yet locked the back 
door. As the children slipped in, they could hear 
her slamming the windows in the dining-room. 
Their footsteps covered by the rolling thunder, the 
140 


JOHN AND BETTY 


youngsters Hew up the back stairs, and broke all 
records yanking off their wet clothes and jumping 
into their night things. Then Betty had an in- 
spiration. “ Hang your things by the window,” 
she hissed, in the best conspirator’s manner. 
“ Mamma won’t know they didn’t get wet that 
way.” 

A minute later, when Mother came up to shut the 
windows, she found both the children apparently 
sound asleep despite the thunder. She was relieved 
to observe that they had thrown back all the covers ; 
she had been a little afraid they might have a chill. 
Betty heard Mother cluck with her tongue regret- 
fully, when she found the wet clothes. Mother 
closed the window without suspicion, and took the 
damp things down-stairs, where she could hang 
them up to dry. When she was gone the little girl 
chuckled cheerfully. Betty felt that a little neces- 
sary deception was all right in this case. She was 
sure that Mother would feel ever so glad and 
proud, when she knew how her little girl and boy 
had helped the King of England. They would all 
be famous. Betty fell asleep, hugging herself with 

.ioy. 


CHAPTER XII 


A ROYAL CAPTI\TE 

The next morning after Mother had started in 
town to the office, Betty hurried out to the barn, 
and invited the King to come in the house while she 
prepared his breakfast. His majesty went up- 
stairs to wash and straighten up before the meal, 
and John posted himself in the parlor, where he 
could observe through the windoAvs if anyone 
turned in from the road, and give warning. The 
little girl Avas giving the bacon the last turn, and 
preparing to drop the eggs into the water to poach, 
when a knock sounded on the back door. 

Betty nearly jumped out of her slippers, she was 
so surprised, for John had given no signal. She 
hesitated a moment, and then hurried to the door, 
wondering aa^o it could be. As she opened the 
door a feAv inches, holding it carefully against in- 
trusion, she saAv Bobby on the back steps. The little 
girl Avas relieved at the sight, for she Avas sure she 
could manage him. Betty opened the door a little 
Avider. “ Hoav did you come in? ” she asked. 

I AA^alked up through the orchard.” — So that 
Avas hoAv he had missed John. Betty decided that 
she must watch from the back, too. — Bobby AA^as 
142 


JOHN AND BETTY 


Hlniost breathless from excitement. “ Did you hear 
about it? he asked. 

“ No, what? ’’ 

“ Why, the crazy man that got away from the 
’sylum. They’re looking for him ever5rwhere. 
Dan’s taking Path-finder to pick up his trail, an’ 
I’m goin’ along.” 

Betty felt a sudden sinking at the heart. It was 
too bad that all this excitement should come up just 
when she and John were too busy to join in right 
away. Not to see Path-finder at work! For the 
moment kingdoms lost their savor. 

“ Aren’t you coming? ” asked Bobby, staring at 
her gloomy face. 

“ Can’t right away.” 

The little boy hesitated. Then he straightened 
manfully. “ Well, I’ll wait for you, if you won’t 
be so awful long. Can I come in? ” 

Betty appreciated the sacrifice, but at all costs 
Bobby must not be permitted to enter. She 
coughed very hard. “ I got a terrible cold,” she 
said. “ It’s catching if you come inside.” Bobby 
drew back hastily. “ WHiere are they going to start 
Path-finder? ” 

“ Down near the station. They think maybe he 
went in town.” 

“ John and I’ll be do^vn after a while. You see 
everything and then you can tell us what we miss.” 

143 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 


“ All right/' agreed Bobby, cheerfully, as he 
started off, “ but you better hurry. Dan says the 
bloodhound’ll find him in no time.” 

As Betty turned after fastening the door, she 
was startled to find the King just behind her. His 
eyes were wide and staring with fright. “ Who 
was it? ” he whispered. 

The little girl recovered herself. “ It was just a 
little boy we know. He stopped to tell us about a 
crazy man, who got away. You needn’t be afraid. 
The crazy man won’t come here.” She drained the 
eggs carefully, and flipped them with an expert 
hand onto the hot buttered toast. “ Breakfast’s 
ready, your majesty,” she announced, cheerfully. 

The King ate a good breakfast, but he was still 
nervous and fidgety. He started at every sound, 
and glanced anxiously behind him. After the meal 
he announced his intention of returning to the 
camp in the woods. The children agreed that he 
would be safer there. They promised to mail the 
letter in the village, and later, to come down to the 
woods in time to get luncheon. 

John and Betty trotted most of the way to the 
post-office, for they were in a great hurry to be rid 
of the letter, and go on to the station. The post- 
master asked Betty where her letter was going, and 
when she said, “ To England,” he sold her a five- 
cent stamp to put on. The little girl licked and 
144 


JOHN AND BETTT 


stuck it hastily, gave the corner of the envelope a. 
thump with her fist to make the stamp secure, 
poked the letter through the slot, and in a moment 
was off to the station with Jolm. 

Bobby was on the platform, lazily watching a 
freight train puff by, when the children arrived. 
“ Did he find him? shouted Betty from afar. 

Bobby looked and then shook his head. As the 
two panted up, “ Path-finder didn’t even get a 
sniff,” he said disgustedly. “ Dan said the rain had 
washed all the trail away.” 

The two children appeared keenly disappointed. 
Betty reflected a minute. Then, “ Was he a bad 
crazy man? ” she asked. 

Bobby shook his head again. “ No, he wasn’t 
even cross. He was just all the time mourning for 
his wife and his little boy, who died. That was 
what made him crazy. And he thought everj^body 
wanted to kill him. The people at the ’sylum say 
they never had any trouble with him before.” 

Betty pondered upon the strange coincidences in 
life. The King’s wife and son were dead, too, and 
he thought somebody wanted to kill him. After 
all, royalties were very like real human beings. 

Having nothing special to do ’til lunch time, 
John and Betty walked home with Bobby. They 
found Peter Wayland on the porch reading the 
paper. 


145 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 


Is your eye better? ” asked Betty politely. 

“ Quite all right again, thank you,’' responded 
Mr. Wayland. Then, turning to his paper again, 
“ They pay a deal too much attention to these 
royalties. Here in a good American pa^Der is a 
long account of King George’s entertainments in 
England.” 

Being hand in glove with royalty, Betty was in- 
terested. “ What King George? ” she asked. 

Peter Wayland was surprised at her ignorance. 
“ The King of England, of course.” 

“But he’s not there!” she exclaimed. John 
kicked her ankle warningly. 

“Where else should he be?” asked the minis- 
ter. 

Betty twisted her fingers and made no reply. 

“ Of course he’s there,” said Peter Wayland. 

As the children started home, “ You nearly gave 
the whole show away,” said John. 

Betty flushed. “ Well, but he isn’t in England,” 
she protested. 

“ Maybe the papers didn’t know. Uncle says 
they’re wrong one half the time and not right the 
other,” commented John sagely. 

Betty made no reply, for she had sighted Dan 
coming in a hurry. He was leading his dog on a 
rope. “ Find anything? ” she called. 

“ Yes,” Dan replied excitedly. “ Path-finder 
146 



Pathfinder Picked Up His Trail in The Woods 





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JOHN AND BETTY 

picked up his trail down in the woods. I’m going 
to get the asylum people. There’s fifty dollars 
reward.” 

J ohn whistled. “ Let’s go along,” he proposed. 
And in a moment the three children were trotting 
after the bigger boy and his dog. 

Betty was very much surprised when Dan 
turned into the palace grounds. She wondered 
what any asylum people would be doing there. 
Searching, perhaps. Instead of the proper per- 
son’s going back with them, the Duke of Gloucester 
put on a white cap and came along. The little girl 
gi’ew more and more puzzled. 

Path-finder took up the scent in the woods and 
led the party straight toward the camp. Betty 
began to be worried over the safety of the King, 
when suddenly the dog paused, sniffed around a 
moment, then swung around in a circle, and started 
straight back. The little girl heaved a sigh of relief. 
The trail seemed to be just fresh now, for the dog 
led away eagerly without hesitating. The scent 
led out of the woods and across the fields. It was 
only when Path-finder scrambled excitedly over 
the low rail fence into the Stamfords’ own orchard 
that Betty began to have an inkling of the truth. 
She stopped abruptly. “John!” she called. 

Her brother turned and came back a few steps. 
“ What’s the matter? ” he asked. 

147 


JOHN AND BETTY 

Betty’s eyes were wide with anxiety, Do you 
s’pose it’s him? " she asked. 

John caught her meaning. “ I don’t know. 
Peter Wayland said Let’s see!” 

“ Don’t go too close,” warned Betty with some 
natural delicacy of feeling. “ If it is the K — ^him, 
he wouldn’t want us to see.” 

The children peered out from behind an apple 
tree. Path-finder was sniffing furiously under 
the stable door. “Here!” ordered the Duke of 
Gloucester, “ you just pull that dog back. We 
mustn’t frighten him.” Then he opened the door. 

The King appeared on the threshold. He looked 
calm and serene, with his arms folded across his 
breast, but he was panting a little. “ I’ve come to 
take you home, Mr. Brown,” said the Duke. 
“ We’ve been greatly worried about you.” 

“ I was quite safe,” replied his ex-majesty. 
“ But straw is not as comfortable as a feather bed.” 

When they were gone, the children came slowly 
from behind the tree. “ I’m glad he didn’t tell 
about us,” said Betty. 

“ It was nice of him not to,” agreed John. 

“ And let’s never, never tell ourselves.” 

“ All right.” 

Betty reflected deeply. “Well, anyway. I’m 
glad Dan will get the reward.” As usual, she 
had found the silver lining. 

148 


CHAPTER XIII 


FARMER MANN 

It was a sultry August morning. John and 
Betty were strolling along the country road not far 
from home, and in a desultory sort of way they 
were practicing throwing stones. Most of their 
spare time was given to this sport, though much of 
the interest had worn off, since they very seldom 
failed to hit whatever they aimed at. The unusual 
thing about the children’s appearance was their ex- 
pression. They were dissatisfied and worried. 

The trouble was that the heat and the hard work 
in town had made Mother ill. She would hardly 
admit it, but there were shadows under her eyes, 
she was growing daily more thin and pale, and she 
was always tired. She was hardly at all like the 
mother the children were used to; the mother who 
was always laughing and prancing as if she were 
no older than themselves. Mother had refused to 
have a doctor, for she said she could not afford such 
luxuries. But a few days ago the children had 
gone forth and firmly summoned the town doctor. 
They told Mother that she must pay him out of the 
money they had saved from the candy route. 

149 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 

There was nearly twenty dollars, which Mother had 
put in a savings bank for them. She had protested 
in vain; the children could be exceedingly firm on 
occasion, and Mother was too tired to combat them. 

The doctor had said that Mother must have a 
complete rest for a couple of weeks, and had pre- 
scribed that she eat plenty of fruit and fresh vege- 
tables. He had declared that if she did not do as 
he ordered, his medicine would be of very little use, 
and in a short time she would have a complete nerv- 
ous breakdo^vn, which would mean several months 
in bed. The difficulty was that neither Mother 
nor the children saw any way of carrying out the 
doctor’s orders. If Mother stayed home from the 
office there would be no money to buy food. As it 
was, there was not enough to obtain the special 
quantity of fruit and vegetables. 

Mother had simply sighed, and said that there 
was nothing which could be done. But the chil- 
dren were not satisfied with letting the matter go 
at that. Hence the council being held this morn- 
ing. 

Betty was speaking. “ Potatoes aren’t really 
vegetables. And besides. Dr. Gray said Mother 
had to have green things like salad and tomatoes. 
The prices they charge for them at Peterson’s are 
simply awful.” 

John gTunted sympathetically. 

150 


JOHN AND BETTY 


The little girl continued her plaint. “ And 
Mother won’t eat apples, and she’s sick to death of 
peaches. She wouldn’t eat the ones I cut up for 
her this morning. I wish there were some plums 
or pears ripe. Seckle pears are good.” She licked 
her lips. 

John looked thoughtful. “ Mr. Mann has a 
couple of trees of seckle pears. Maybe they’re 
ripe now. He wouldn’t miss just a few off the 
ground.” 

Betty’s face brightened. “ There’s no harm in 
going to look, anyhow,” she said. 

The children had been to the jNIanns’ farm, which 
adjoined their own home, a couple of times by invi- 
tation, and a great many times without. One of 
their especial joys was riding the big calves. One 
person held the calf’s head tightly while the other 
climbed aboard. Then the person holding re- 
leased the animal, generally being butted flat. 
Then followed a motion for the rider like a ship on 
a wild and stormy sea. The calf bounced up in 
front, and then up behind, with lightning rapidity. 
At about the sixth bounce the rider flew off, alight- 
ing with some force upon the grass, and the calf 
dashed away triumphant. The next task was to 
round up the calf again, and repeat the perform- 
ance with reversed positions. 

John and Betty paused at the orchard fence. 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 


They stared through the openings in the green 
screen of leaves toward the white farmhouse, some 
distance away. “ I don’t see anybody around,” 
said Betty. 

“ ProbMy he’s off cutting hay. He said he was 
going to, if it stayed dry,” contributed John. 

A moment later the two had slipped quietl}" 
through the wire fence. “ H’rumph! ” went some- 
thing. 

Betty nearly jumped out of her shoes. “ What 
was that? ” she gasped. 

“ Just a pig,” replied her brother. “ He must 
have turned the drove in here to save the fallen 
apples and things. I hope there are some pears 
left.” 

But there was not one. The ground underneath 
the pear trees had been swept clean, though plenty 
of the fruit all ready to ripen with a few hours in 
the warm sun swung from the green limbs. The 
children hesitated. It was one thing to pick up 
some fruit from the ground, which was going to 
waste anyway, and quite another to help them- 
selves from the tree. 

Betty decided the question. “ Mother’s simply 
got to have some,” she said. “ We can’t buy any, 
because everybody’s tired of candy, and won’t take 
it. We won’t take any for ourselves.” 

John yielded. “Let’s take another look, and 

152 


JOHN AND BETTY 

make sure there’s no one watching us,” he ad* 
vised. 

The children stole softly up to the fence, which 
divided the orchard off from the truck patch that 
lay between the orchard and garden. The two 
crouched Indian style, and peered carefully over 
the top rail. Not a soul was in sight. But straight 
before her nose Betty perceived red ripe tomatoes, 
fresh green lettuce, beets, a few late radishes, quan- 
tities of all kinds of beans, cabbages and corn. 
Moreover, the Avhole patch was overgrown shock- 
ingly with weeds. 

Betty particularly craved some of the tomatoes. 

They’re all falling on the ground and weedy,” 
she said. “ I guess the Manns don’t care much 
about them.” 

“ We might ask for some if anyone were about,” 
replied John, with assumed virtue. 

“ Well, there isn’t, so I think we’d better get a 
few for Mamma.” 

“ Better wait ’til after we get the pears,” advised 
her brother. “ Tomatoes are awful soft, and 
they’ll squash when we climb the tree.” 

John was just giving Betty the first boost into 
a seckle-pear tree when a shrill “ yipe, yipe,” sur- 
prised them, and a little black-and-tan teiTier came 
galloping up. “ Rat and tan,” the children called 
him, a slim-nosed, nervous little beast, that was 

153 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 


good for very little except barking and playing, 
but which was the apple of Mrs. Mann’s eye. 
“Hush up, Sport!” commanded John. “You’ll 
give us away.” 

“ Oh, nobody pays any attention to him,” said 
Betty indifferently. “ He’s always barking.” 

So Sport barked in peace, while the children 
filled their pockets with the ripest pears they could 
find. A few fell on the ground as the limbs swayed 
beneath their weight, and several pigs ran over and 
began to eat them. Sport had a fine idea for a new 
game. He barked loudly and nipped a hog’s hind 
leg. The clumsy animal ran in fright. The ter- 
rier fairly grinned with joy. He dashed at the 
others, and in a few minutes he had a dozen on the 
run. 

The children dropped out of the pear tree, and, 
keeping a sharp watch out, they went up to the 
truck patch for some tomatoes. Betty took off her 
hat to lay them in. At that moment they heard 
behind them a shrill yipe of fear. They turned to 
look. Sport had been having a splendid time chas- 
ing the middle-sized pigs, but now he had made a 
serious mistake. He had started up a litter of fat 
little squealers, who were still with their mother. 
The babies were highly satisfactory as they scat-^ 
tered, squeaking loudly, but the old mother sow 
arose in wrath and went for the little dog. As 

154 


JOHN AND BETTY 


Sport caught sight of her gleaming red eyes and 
great slavering jaws, he gave a howl of fright and 
fled. 

For so ungainly a creature the sow was astonish- 
ingly fast. Still, Sport might have reached the 
fence in time, if all the other hogs, seeing their little 
tormentor in flight, had not joined in the chase. 
The terrier leaped and dodged desperately, for he 
recognized the menace of the ugly tusks. And 
with every breath he cried. 

“ Oh! ” said Betty. ‘‘ They’ll kill him! ” And 
she ran to the rescue, John after her. 

There was an old fence which ran part way 
across the orchard, and had at one time divided it 
in two. Much of it was still standing, though 
there were several breaks at one end. Sport was 
dodging near it; he flashed through, but the pigs 
on the other side took up the chase, and those on the 
near side ran up the fence a little way, and began 
to scramble through a break. The little dog gave 
a howl of despair as he felt teeth scratch his lithe 
flank. 

A plan of battle had already formed in Betty’s 
mind. ‘‘The fence!” she called to John. And 
then, “ Here, Sport! Here, Sport! ” 

The children scrambled up on the fence. John 
steadied himself by clinging to the limb of an apple 
tree. Betty held his hand and leaned far down 

155 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 

from the fence top. “ Here, Sport! Good boy! ” 
she repeated. 

Sport heard. He turned, dodged under a heavy 
board, frantically wriggled between two snapping 
sows, hopped over a little pig, made a mad dash, 
and reached the fence. Betty seized the scruff of 
his neck, and lifted him clear just in time. A mass 
of grunting, squealing hogs piled up, where he had 
been an instant before. Betty heaved a sigh of re- 
lief. “Thank goodness!” she said, as she patted 
the little beast’s satiny coat. 

Sport, held safely under her arm, was gasp- 
ing with exhaustion, but he wagged a thank 
you. 

“ We’re not out of it yet,” warned John. 

The children recognized that they were in a diffi- 
cult position. The hogs were thoroughly enraged, 
and for once had forgotten to be cowardly. They 
had gathered thick on both sides of the fence. The 
noses of the largest ones almost touched the chil- 
dren’s feet. Betty glanced about wildly for in- 
spiration, and then her gaze fastened upon the tree, 
to which John was still holding. There were hard 
green apples in great number; in other words, am- 
munition. In a few hurried words she explained 
her plan. Her brother approved, and set to work 
at once picking the apples nearest him. 

Betty set Sport in a crotch of the tree, where he 
156 


JOHN AND BETTY 

crouched, quivering. Then she helped. The barn- 
yard fence was the nearest way of escape, so the 
cliildren set up a vigorous bombardment of the pigs 
on that side. Every apple found its mark un- 
gently, and every mark set up a squeal and ran. 
Inside of five minutes the children’s barrage 
had driven all the hogs to the other side of the 
fence. 

Then the boy and girl began on that side. 
Slowly and furiously the enemy retreated toward 
the fence along the road. “Now!” cried John, 
with a last hard fling, “ run for it! ” 

Betty seized Sport, they sprang do^vn and 
dashed for the barnyard fence. Seeing their ene- 
mies again in flight, the hogs followed with squeals 
of rage. The swine ran faster than the children, 
but the business of scrambling one at a time 
through the break in the fence delayed them. 
From the tail of her eye, the little girl saw them 
coming. She sprang desperately for the lowest 
bar, pulled herself up, and then, dizzy with relief, 
she perched on top of the fence, Sport still clutched 
firmly under her arm. A moment later a pair of 
strong arms lifted her gently down. 

“Well, you be a plucky pair!” said Farmer 
Mann. “ I heard them hogs from the back field, 
and I knew they were up to some devilment.” 

“ It was Sport,” said Betty, holding out the little 

157 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 


dog. “ He chased some baby pigs, and they all 
went after him and would have killed him, so we 
had to get him out.” 

Farmer Mann took the terrier, patted him and 
set him down. “ That was real good of you,” he 
said, gratefully. “ It would just about break 
Mary’s heart to lose the little critter. She sets 
such store by him.” 

And at this moment the children could have de- 
parted gracefully, but for an accident. As John 
stooped over to pet Sport, a pear fell out of his 
pocket. Betty strove to distract the farmer’s at- 
tention. ‘‘ Oh, I see you’ve got a new rooster!” 
she exclaimed. 

“ No,” said Mr. Mann, as he stared at the pear 
with a curious expression upon his face, “ thet’s 
the same old one I’ve had this long while.” 

John followed the direction of the farmer’s gaze, 
saw the pear, and blushed. Instinctively he 
clapped his hand to his pocket; he felt suddenly 
bulgy with “ borrowed ” wealth all over. 

Mr. Mann looked at the children reflectively, 
and they shifted from one foot to another uncom- 
fortably under his gaze. “ So thet was how you 
come to be in the orchard,” he said. 

Betty had to try to defend herself. “ There’s 
trees full of them. We didn’t think you’d miss 
just a few, and you weren’t around to ask. We 

158 


JOHN AND BETTY 


meant to just pick some up off the ground, but the 
pigs had eaten those.” 

John dug down past the pears in his pocket, 
and discovered two cents. He held them forth 
proudly. “ How many will that pay for? ” he 
asked. 

Farmer Mann looked doubtful. He did not 
think that children ought to be allowed to help 
themselves to things, and at the same time he did 
not want to take the little boy’s money, particularly 
since he was Mrs. Stamford’s little boy, a lady for 
whom he felt a profound admiration. 

John continued to hold out the two cents, while 
Betty, who, when brought to the point, fairl}^ 
luxuriated in confession, disclosed the darkest se- 
cret of all. “I was going to take some tomatoes, 
too,” she said. “ They’re all fallen down and 
weedy, so I didn’t suppose you cared much about 
them.” 

“Well, I’ll be d-darned!” said Farmer Mann, 
and he pushed back his straw hat and scratched his 
head. 

“ You see. Dr. Gray told Mamma she must eat 
lots of green vegetables and fruit,” explained the 
little girl. 

“And they cost so much in the stores,” continued 
her brother. 

“ That we couldn’t buy them,” finished Betty. 
159 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 

A light sx)read over the farmer’s face. ‘‘ Is 
your mother poorly? ” he asked. 

“ She’s going to have a nerv — nervous breakup,” 
said Betty, with some pride. 

“You mean breakdown,” corrected John, wsely. 

“ Well, what’s the difference? ” belligerently. 

Mr. Mann interrupted the discussion. “ Hain’t 
there nothin’ can be done? ” he asked anxiously. 

Betty shook her head. “ No, except a vacation, 
and vegetables and fruit; and we can’t manage 
it.” 

“ Well, now, thet’s too bad,” said the farmer, 
sympathetically. “You jest let me think a min- 
ute.” He took his hat clear off, and rubbed his 
head hard from front to back. This motion he 
varied by pulling at his large red ears. The little 
girl watched the operation with interest. She de- 
cided to try it the next time, when she couldn’t 
think of a way out of things, and see if it would 
assist thought. Finally Mr. Mann claj)ped the 
hat on again, and pulled it down so tight that a tuft 
of his sandy hair stuck straight up through a hole 
in the crown. “ Now, I’ll tell you,” he began. 
“ Thet there truck patch is right full o’ weeds, an’ 
neither Jim nor me has got time to rid ’em out in 
harvestin’ time. If you two will keep the patch 
cleared out, you c’n have all the vegetables an’ fruit 
you c’n use. There’s a plenty.” 

160 


JOHN AND BETTY 

The children beamed. ‘‘That would be fine!” 
said John. 

“ Wliere’s a hoe? ” asked Betty. 

Farmer Mann chuckled. “The tools is in the 
wood house,” he said. “And there’s another thing 
I thought of. Your place has a sight of fine peach 
trees.” 

Betty nodded. “ Bunches of them,” she agreed. 

“ Ripe yet? ” 

“ Nearly half of them.” 

“Well, you pick all j^ou can of them. You’ll 
find baskets you c’n put ’em in in the shed. Don’t 
take no soft ones, jest firm. Come Thursday 
mornin’ I’ll take ’em in to market with me, and I 
shouldn’t wonder but they’ll fetch a fair price.” 

Betty smiled: “ Thank you ever so much,” she 
said. 

But John was thoughtful. “ You’ll have to 
charge commission,” he said. 

“ Yes, commission,” agreed Betty. She loved 
long words, though often she hadn’t any idea what 
they meant. 

Mr. Mann grinned. “All right,” he said. 

The children worked hard all day weeding and 
tying up. Sometimes it took the combined strength 
of both of them to pull up some large, deep-rooted 
weed. Betty found the wild sweet potatoes and 
carrots, with their long tubers, particularly irritat- 

i6i 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 

ing. They did not even go home to lunch, but sal 
down in the patch, and dined off tomatoes and 
com. The tomatoes were sweet from the wann 
sun, and the corn, even when raw, was tender and 
delicious, since it was fresh from the stalk. 

In the afternoon the children picked a “ mess ” 
of lima beans and corn for Mrs. Mann, and she 
lent them a large basket to carry home all they 
could use. By the time it was late enough to go 
home and start supper for Mother, nearly a third 
of the patch was cleared. Both youngsters were 
tired and grimj^ cricks in their backs cried for rest, 
but broad smiles of satisfaction rested upon their 
faces as they gazed upon the scene of their en- 
deavors. Farmer Mann had just driven the culti- 
vator in from the fields, and he came over to take a 
look. His practiced ej^e dwelt with pleasure upon 
the neat hills about the corn stalks, and the care- 
fully tied up bean vines and tomato plants. 

“ Well, you have worked hard,” he said in a tone 
of approval. ‘‘ Two men wouldn’t have done no 
better.” 

The youngsters beamed. “ You won’t know 
that patch when we get through with it,” said John. 

Betty squinted at the g'arden with a calculating 
eye. “ I shouldn’t wonder if there’d be a lot of 
extra truck you could sell after we get it all cleaned 
up,” she said. 


162 


JOHN AND BETTY 


If there is, we’ll go fifty-fifty on it,” said 
Farmer Mann. 

Mother was surprised, indeed, when she was pre- 
sented with fresh corn on the cob, tender lima beans, 
and tomato salad, all at one meal. When she had 
been told about the arrangement with the Manns, 
she could not say enough in praise of the children’s 
ingenuity and industry. They had not explained 
to her how the plan had originated; it seemed to 
them unnecessary. 

That night was one of dreamless sleep, and in 
the morning it was extraordinarily hard to wake 
up. Betty yawned and turned over to take an- 
other nap half an hour after her usual rising time. 
Then all at once she remembered the peaches, and 
sat straight up in bed. This was Wednesday. Mr. 
Mann would be calling for them the very next 
morning, and they must have as many baskets 
ready for him as possible. “ John! ” called Betty. 

“ M-m-m-m,” wearily from across the hall. 

The little girl felt wonderfully virtuous, because 
she had wakened first. ‘‘ John! ” she said sharply. 
“Are you up yet? ” 

“ H’m, h’m.” 

“ You don’t sound up, and we’ve all those 
peaches to pick to-day.” 

A loud groan from John responded. It is a sad 
fact that John did not like to work. 


CHAPTER XIV 


BILLY 

Betty was inexorable. Right after breakfast 
the two went across the fields to the Manns’ with 
their express wagon. They loaded the little cart 
high with baskets from the shed, and the farmer 
lent them two bags for peaches, which hung from 
their shoulders by straps, and two pickers. The 
pickers consisted of little wire cages with a hole in 
the top and long claws. These were set on the 
end of long poles. The claws would jiull a peach 
off without bruising it, and then the fruit would 
drop a few inches safely into the little cage. The 
children used the bags to hold the peaches, when 
they climbed into the trees to reach the fruit 
higher up. 

With many stops for refreshment the children 
worked nearly all day. In that time they managed 
to fill ten baskets with fine fruit. All the best 
peaches were laid in one special basket as they came 
from the trees. And when the youngsters were 
through picking, Betty took a few of the inferior 
peaches from the top of each basket, and finished 
them off with the large, well-colored, handsome 
164 


JOHN AND BETTY 

fruit instead. This greatly improved tlie appear- 
ance of the outfit. Then first thing in the morn- 
ing, Betty ran out into the orchard and picked 
fresh sprays of peach leaves. These she tucked 
artistically about the blushing fruit. 

When Farmer Mann arrived with his wagon, he 
grinned appreciatively at the artistic effect. 
“ Can’t anybody teach you nothin’ about toppin*,” 
he said. 

That day the weary two rested, except for pull- 
ing a few weeds, while they were picking vegetables 
in the patch for dinner. It was nearly dark when 
Mr. Mann drove up again. His wagon, heaped 
up that morning, was quite empty now. The chil- 
dren ran eagerly to meet him. He greeted them 
with a grin. “ Them peaches sold fer more than 
mine the way you fixed ’em,” he said. “ I’ll take 
as many more as you c’n pick, when I’m goin’ in 
again next Tuesday.” And he counted out fifteen 
crisp new dollar bills. 

Betty gasped. She had never seen so much 
money at one time in her life before. Even John’s 
eyes were round with surprise. “ Did you take 
out your corn-commission? ” she asked. 

Farmer Mann chuckled. “ I reckon it’s all right 
about that,” he said. “ Giddap, Lady.” And 
the wagon rattled away. 

Betty regarded the little wad of greenbacks with 
165 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 

awe. Then a sudden brightness spread over her 
face. “ Now Mamma can have a vacation,” she 
announced. 

John’s countenance reflected an equal delight. 
“ Yes, an’ they’re baskets an’ baskets more out 
there.” He stared down toward the dark orchard 
appreciatively. “ It’s a reg’lar gold mine,” he 
said. 

Mother was ever so surprised and proud when 
the young financiers came in and laid their wealth, 
earned all by themselves, before her, “ Now you 
can have a vacation,” said Betty. 

“And if that isn’t enough for a vacation,” added 
John, grandly, “ there’ll be lots more, when Mr. 
Mann takes some more peaches to market Tues- 
day.” 

Mother flushed and her eyes filled with tears, 
just as if she ought not to have been very happy. 
“ But, my darlings,” she said, “ I couldn’t think of 
using any more of your hard-earned money! ” 

Betty turned very sober. “ We’d much rather 
have a mamma than the money,” she said. 

“ You know we couldn’t buy another mamma,” 
finished John, reasonably. 

And then Mother gave a little laugh deep down 
in her throat, that was half a sob, and she hugged 
the children up very tight. “ My precious babies!” 
said Mother. 


i66 


JOHN AND BETTI 


So it was arranged that Mother was to stay home 
from the office for two weeks and get all w^ell and 
rested up. 

J ohn and Betty spent the rest of that week get- 
ting Farmer Mann’s tiiick patch all in order. 
Sometimes they were so tired of pulling up weeds 
that they were tempted to let it all go, but always 
then they thought of Mother, and that made them 
go at it again. And indeed they both enjoyed the 
sweet tender vegetables themselves. Particularly 
the corn and beans. It seemed to the little girl 
that no meal was quite complete without that de- 
licious combination. 

By Saturday night the work was all finished, 
and Mother, and the whole Mann family, had to 
gather to admire. Farmer Mann smiled and jin- 
gled the ehange in his x^ockets. “ You’re jest born 
workers,” he said ax)preciatively. 

Hired man Jim chuckled. I see where I’m 
a-goin’ to lose my job,” said he. 

It was the next week when Farmer Mann began 
to gather in his hay. The children had come over 
early to do a little work on the truck patch and pick 
a few vegetables before the heat of the day. The 
farmer was just starting out with his hay wagon, 
that delightfully huge, uncomfortable, rattling 
contrivance. Generally his daughter Belle, home 
from her winter teaching, drove it for him, but this 
167 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 

time she was away visiting. At this moment Mr. 
Mann caught sight of two pairs of eager, imploring 
eyes from the truck patch. He smiled. “ Wanta 
come along? ” he called. 

It was as if St. Peter had said, “ Would you like 
to come to heaven? ” — with Mother, of course, — or 
the confectioner had asked, “ Will you eat all the 
candy and ice-cream you want without paying? ” 
In an instant the children had scrambled over the 
fence, and were climbing into the high wagon. 
Betty’s hands fairly itched for the lines, and her 
joy was quite complete when the farmer, who un- 
derstood children quite as well as any grown-up 
could, said, “ Wanta drive? ” 

With those slim black straps in her hands, Betty 
felt as proud as one who guides the destiny of a 
battleship. “ Git along! ” said Mr. Mann to the 
mules, and they got. 

The little girl discovered that mules have only 
two paces, a walk and a gallop. These galloped 
furiously, and the wagon rattled and swayed. 
Betty was a little frightened. She had never really 
driven before, only held the lines while someone 
else did the guiding. With luck she managed to 
just shave past the farmyard gate-post into the 
lane that led through the fields. She heaved a sigh 
of relief; now all the mules had to do was to follow 
the lane. But Farmer Mann liad not appeared in 
1 68 


JOHN AND BETTY 


the least perturbed, despite his driver’s evident 
ne^vness to the job. He would have trusted old 
Dick and Joe to reach the hay-field all by them- 
selves. 

The mules turned into the field, slowing to a 
walk. And as they came opposite the first of the 
long lines of neatly piled hay, “Whoa!” called 
jNIr. Mann. The mules stopped, and the farmer 
and his hired man tumbled out. 

With their long pitchforks the men speared the 
hay, and tossed great fragrant bunches of it over 
the sides into the bottom of the wagon. Here the 
children trod it down all tight and firm. They 
thought it great fun to scramble back and forth 
over the dry clover, and an immense joke if a fork- 
ful caught them when they were not looking, and 
tumbled them over. Then at last, when the wagon 
was piled up to a mountainous height, what could 
have been more delightful than riding in from the 
fields on top of the fragrant mass, and looking 
down with a half pitying contempt upon all 
the insignificant little things below their airy 
perch? 

Farmer Mann himself drove the loaded wagon 
to the barn, while Jim hung on behind. Then Jim 
swung wide the great doors, and the farmer drove 
right into the middle of the barn. Here the chil- 
dren climbed off into a haymow, which was on a 
169 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 

level with them, and then they scrambled down the 
ladder to play about the barn while the men un- 
loaded the wagon. 

John and Betty had never before been free to 
wander about a really big barn. They found it 
fascinating, from the long row of cattle pens, where 
the cows were fed and milked eveiy night and 
morning, but which were empty now with the ex- 
ception of one white cow with a very young and 
wholly adorable little calf, to the warm corner in 
the hay, where Betty discovered a mother cat and 
four delightfully playful little kittens. Farmer 
Mann looked down from the haymow, when he 
heard the little girl’s cry of delight. He smiled. 
'‘You jest come round at milkin’ time, if you 
wanta see a sight o’ cats,” he called. “We ain’t 
troubled much with the rats here,” and he vigor- 
ously tossed a great forkful of hay into a far 
corner. 

“ I’d be glad to come,” Betty accepted, grate- 
fully. 

The children were especially interested in the 
line of horses, who stood patiently switching flies in 
their stalls. There were Lucy, an old mare, who, 
Mr. Mann assured them, had won the races at 
the county fair more than once in her youth; Chet, 
a husky chestnut; Lady, Mrs. Mann’s little mare, 
which she drove to the post-office every morning, 
170 


JOHN AND BETTY 

and to church on Sunday; and Pete, a dark bay 
with a white star on his forehead, and so wise that 
he could run the treadmill, which drew water for 
the farm, or manage the whole place, according to 
Mr. Mann, in case his master fell ill. The children 
regarded this prodigy of animal intelligence with 
deep respect, and offered him a handful of the fresh 
hay. Pete accepted with pleasure. 

It was then that Betty made her great discovery. 
Just beyond the line of horses was a big, airy box 
stall. The little girl stood on top of a keg and 
peeped thi’ough the window. It was there that she 
met Billy for the first time, and there ensued a case 
of love at first sight. Billy was a colt, two years 
old, who had never yet been broken, and he was 
black from his dainty soft nose to the tip of his 
flowing tail, a blue-black that shone like satin in the 
sun. “ Thet there’s one o’ old Lucy’s colts,” said 
Farmer Mann. He’s too light fer ploughin’, so 
I’m goin’ to have him broke to the saddle fer Belle. 
She’s been plagiiin’ fer a saddle-hoss ever sence her 
old mare died.” 

“ Wliat’s his name?” asked Betty, almost breath- 
less with admiration, for if there was anything that 
she admired more than yellow cats, it was black 
hoi’ses. 

“ Billy,” replied the farmer. 

The colt pricked up his ears and trotted over to 
171 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 

the window on hearing his name. “ He’s a 
beauty,” said Betty. 

“ You bet,” affirmed John. 

The little girl gave Billy an armful of hay, and 
he nuzzled her soft hand gratefully before starting 
to pick over the fragrant mass. 

When the children returned to the farm after 
lunch, Betty came with her pockets stuffed full of 
sweet apples for Billy. The little colt was de- 
lighted, for he loved fruit, and so the friendship 
between the horse and the child was cemented. 
After that no visit to Farmer Mann’s was complete 
without a talk with Billy, accompanied by one or 
more apples, and considering that a day seldom 
passed without the children’s being at the farm, 
Betty really saw a gi’eat deal of the pretty creature. 

Haying was finished by the end of the week, and 
John and Betty were much delighted when Mr. 
Mann paid off his young assistants with a dollar 
apiece, declaring that they had fully earned it. 
Betty stuck her crisp bill into the slot in the top of 
the little red pig that stood on her bureau. The 
pig already jingled fatly with an accumulation of 
pennies, nickels and dimes, and the child felt the 
bill was a crowning addition. There was a dupli- 
cate pig in John’s room, but when shaken it was 
generally sadly silent. Sometimes, in fits of thrift, 
J ohn would put a nickel or a dime, or once a whole 
172' 


JOHN, AND BETTY 


quarter, in the slot, but alwaj^s afterward he re- 
pented, and had to spend hours of patient effort 
coaxing the coin out again. Even the dollar did 
not enter the pig even temporarily, but was 
promptly exchanged at the hardware store for a 
large and complicated jack-knife, which the little 
boy had long desired. This, he proudly showed his 
sister, could be used as a knife, a corkscrew, a but- 
ton-hook, or a nail file, but he failed to explain 
that the only use he really had for it was as a 
knife. 

After Farmer Mann’s invitation, Betty went 
over regularly every morning at milking time to 
see the cats fed. It was quite a sight. After all 
the foaming new milk had been carried into the 
dairy to cool in great barrels of cold spring water, 
Mr. Mann would come out carrying three huge 
pans. These he would set on the ground, and 
break into them three loaves of stale bread, which 
he had brought out from the house. Next he 
would bring out two brimming pails of milk, and 
fill the pans to the top. Then he would whistle, 
and from every door and window, from every cor- 
ner and hole and roof, would come pouring the 
cats. There were big cats and little cats, fat ones 
and thin ones, old grandpas and tiny kittens. They 
were black, white, yellow, gray and bro^vn, and 
showed every shade and combination that a cat ever 

173 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 

wore. And every one was scampering as fast as it 
could go, and meowing at the top of its lungs. The 
horde would close in about the pans, and then for a 
time there would be silence, except for the lapping 
of many tongues, or a low gTowl if an old Tom 
thought a foolish youngster was shoving him too 
hard. 

Betty loved to preside over the feast, making 
more room for a kitten, who was being pushed 
aside, or restraining a greedy one, who would try 
to drive his fellows away, and have all the breakfast 
for himself. There was only one cat who never 
came to the meal. That was a huge old Maltese 
named Pepper. Pepper went into the cow shed 
with the men when milking began, and here he 
would sit up on his hind legs, open his mouth wide, 
and wait until Farmer Mann or Jim shot a stream 
of wann milk into his mouth. He seemed to enjoy 
this way of getting his breakfast, and Betty 
thought him very clever. 

The cats always knew the day when the butcher 
came around, for they lined the lane first thing in 
the morning. And when the first tinkle of his bell 
sounded down the road, what a meowing there was! 
Mrs. Mann sometimes thought it was extravagant, 
but her husband always insisted on the butcher’s 
saving him a quantity of nice scraps for the pussies. 
“ They save my wheat and corn by reddin’ out the 

174 


JOHN AND BETTY 

rats; I reckon they earn their vittles,” he used to 
say. 

It was butcher day one afternoon when Betty 
went over to see the Manns. After viewing the 
pleasing spectacle, which in many ways reminded 
one of a bargain rush in one of our large depart- 
ment stores, the little girl inquired politely after 
Billy. 

“ He’s gone,” said Farmer Mann. 

Betty looked very blank, and then almost ready 
to cry. 

Mr. Mann smiled reassuringly. “ He’ll be back 
agin. I jest sent him to the trainer’s, bein’ as 
Belle’s in a hurry to ride him, and I hain’t got the 
time fer breakin’, with the potatoes ready to dig.” 


175 


CHAPTER XV 


BILLY THE OUTCAST 

The little girl missed her friend during the 
couple of weeks he was away. She really did not 
see why Farmer Mann had thought breaking was 
necessary, for she had already ridden Billy about 
the pasture, when no one was there to see. She 
hoped that breaking was not what it sounded like. 
On the afternoon when the little horse was to re- 
turn, Betty hurried quickly over to the Manns’ to 
bid him welcome. It seemed to her an age since 
she had patted his sleek sides and cuddled his velvet 
nose against her cheek. 

When Betty arrived at Farmer Mann’s there 
was no one in sight. Dr. Gray’s buggy was stand- 
ing in the lane, and the little girl wondered, with a 
sudden sinking of the heart, who was ill. She 
stopped to inquire before going down to the stable 
to look for her beloved Billy. 

Dr. Gray was coming out. “ She’ll get well,” 
he was saying. “ It’s a bad break, but it’ll heal up 
with time and patience, and not leave even a limp.” 

Betty’s little head was whirling with breakings. 
Could it be that there was something wrong with 
176 


JOHN AND BETTY 


Billy? But the doctor had said “she.” “What 
break? ” she asked breathlessly. 

Dr. Gray turned and smiled benevolently upon 
her, for she was “ that charming Mrs. Stamford’s ” 
daughter. “ Why,” he said, “ the vicious little 
beast threw Miss Belle and broke her leg.” 

Betty listened aghast. “ Not — not Billy? ” she 
gasped. 

Mrs. Mann, who had followed into the entry, 
nodded her head vigorously. “ Yes, Billy, He’s 
turned out a thorough bad one. Mr. Mann’s called 
up a calf man, who made a bid for him; once. 
Haulin’ a calf wagon his forty a day on short 
vittles’ll take out the nonsense.” Mrs. Mann was 
naturally a good-hearted soul, but she spoke vi- 
ciously, for the injury to her precious Belle had 
made her very angry. 

Betty turned miserably toward the stable. 

“ I wouldn’t go down there,” Mrs. Mann 
warned, as she turned to reenter the house. “Jim’s 
attendin’ to him with a cowhide.” 

The little girl paused and shuddered. A whip 
used on that satiny skin! Poor Billy! Of course, 
he had done an awful thing, but Betty felt there 
must be a dreadful mistake somewhere. She could 
not believe that the little horse had meant to hurt 
anyone. A sound of stamping came from the 
stable, and Betty turned aside wretchedly into the 

177 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 

orchard. Here she filled her pockets with apples 
from force of habit, and sat down under a tree to 
think. 

So Billy was to be sold to a calf wagon, and she 
would never sec him again. Her eyes filled with 
tears and overflowed. She would miss him dread- 
fully. But worst of all, poor Billy would be un- 
happy. The little girl had seen time and again the 
miserable bony nags, that trot through the country 
with a mechanical patience, a lumbering wagon 
rolling behind generally containing a bawling calf. 
She knew the poor beasts were beaten, starved and 
worked nearly to death. The beautiful Billy 
would soon be handsome no longer, when his poor 
ribs stuck out like barrel staves under his rough- 
ened coat. She sobbed softly, and hunted in her 
pocket among the apples for her handkerchief. 

A long time afterward she saw Jim going up to 
the house. He whistled with a cheerfulness which 
Betty felt was very improper on a day of sueh 
calamities, and particularly when she supposed that 
he had just finished the task of whipping poor 
Billy. 

As soon as Jim had disappeared within the 
kitchen door, Betty was hurrying down to the bam. 
She pulled open the big door and hastened into 
the fragrant dimness. Stumbling in her anxiety, 
she ran to the big box stall, climbed up on the keg, 
178 


JOHN AND BETTY 

and looked in. But the stall was empty, except 
for a big blue-bottle droning away m a shaft of 
sunshine. Betty felt a sudden oppression about 
her heart; she was afraid. “Billy, Billy!’* she 
called in a quavering voice, but there was no an- 
swering neigh. 

Betty ran all over the stable looking and looking. 
She even searched in the cow stalls, but there was 
no Billy. Grimy and tear-stained, she flung her- 
self down on a big pile of hay in despair. Then 
she had an idea. The pastures! Why hadn’t she 
thought of that before? Quickly she jumped up 
and ran out of the barn. It was in the farthest 
back pasture that Betty found a little black horse 
all by liimself. Betty gave a cry of delight and 
whistled to him, but the horse did not come. The 
little girl was surprised; perhaps it wasn’t Billy 
after all, though it looked like him. 

Betty scrambled over the rail fence and went 
closer to the animal. This horse was thinner than 
Billy had been, she saw, and he didn’t seem to know 
her; he only trembled and edged away when she 
came near. The little girl looked at him carefully. 
The poor creature’s eyes were bloodshot and wild 
with fear, and then on his flank she saw three gi'eat 
welts. She was sure then. “ Poor Billy,” she 
said softly. 

Billy’s ears pricked up, but he still trembled. 

179 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 

The little girl felt in her pocket and drew out an 
apple. “ Want an apple, Billy? ” she asked. 

At the well-known question the little horse 
whinnied plaintively, but he was afraid to come 
close enough to take the fruit, so Betty laid the 
apple on the grass and then stepped back a few 
feet, so he could come forward and take it. 

Billy advanced slowly with hesitating little steps, 
holding himself ready to jump and run at the first 
movement on the child’s part. The poor creature’s 
faith in human kindness had been so deeply shaken 
that he had almost forgotten that he and Betty 
used to be friends. 

A step or two from the apple, Billy paused. 
The little girl was now dangerously close, and he 
eyed her fearfully. But a delightful odor came 
to his starving senses from the fruit. After all, 
perhaps it might be worth a risk. Betty was 
standing quite still, and that reassured the horse a 
little. It seemed possible that he might be able to 
seize the apple before she could hit him, if he were 
quick. 

Slowly Billy bent his knees, and stretched for- 
ward his long neck. His nostrils were quivering 
with eagerness, and his lips were drawn back. 
Suddenly, with startling speed, his head shot for- 
ward, he seized the apple in his mouth, and then 
sprang erect and backed off to a safe distance with 
i8o 


JOHN AND BETTY 

his trophy. Here he gobbled the fruit as if he were 
lialf starved. 

The little girl watched him pityingly. She 
could hardly believe that this was the same gentle, 
affectionate creature that had been her loved com- 
panion all summer. Something dreadful must 
surely have happened to change him so. His evi- 
dent hunger touched her keenly, too. 

Gently Betty advanced a few steps. The horse 
raised his head and watched her nervously. The 
little girl took another apple from her pocket, and 
carefully laid it where she had put the first. Then 
she walked av/ay again. 

Billy repeated his first performance, but he came 
a little more quickly this time, and did not retreat 
quite so far with his prize. 

Encouraged, Betty tried the experiment a third 
time, with the same result. But, when she held out 
her last apple on her hand, the little horse would 
not come near. He eyed the fruit wistfully, but 
the danger of trying to take it appeared to him too 
great. Coaxing would not persuade him, so finally 
Betty laid the apple on the grass, where she had put 
the others, and walking to the nearest fence, seated 
herself upon it to consider. 

Here, chin cupped in her hands, she thought the 
situation over. She could see more than a few 
welts on Billy’s satiny coat, and they were evidently 

i8i 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 

quite painful, for he kept turning his head and 
nosing them anxiously. Also he was even thinner 
than she had thought at first. His ribs shoAved very 
plainly Avhen he moved. At last the little girl 
made up her mind. Her lips shut firmly, and her 
small chin appeared unusually square. Of course, 
Billy had been extremely wicked, but she would 
not let him suffer any more than was really neces- 
sary. Swiftly she jumped down from the fence, 
and set off homeward. 

It was not long before she Avas back again, Avith 
a bottle of mixed arnica and a soft rag safely be- 
stoAved in her pocket. Under one arm she carried 
half a dozen ears of corn, Avhich she had slipped out 
of the feed house, and in her other hand she held a 
long rope. 

Billy Avhinnied when he caught sight of the yel- 
loAv corn, but he Avould not come near to get it. 
Betty laid the ears of corn in a pile on the ground, 
and then stepped back a little Avay, as she had done 
AA^hen she gave him the apj)les. Billy trotted for- 
Avard confidently. He was still very hungry, for 
the fruit had only Avhetted his appetite. But he did 
not proceed Avith the corn quite as he had Avith the 
apples. He did not like to take one ear at a time, 
and leave all the others behind. He felt quite sure 
that he could eat all six AAdth perfect enjoyment. 
Billy hesitated, but the little girl A\^as standing A^ei^" 
182 


JOHN AND BETTY 


still, and really she did not look extremely danger- 
ous. The horse shook his head, snorted, sniffed, 
looked once more at the quiet cliild, and then fell 
to work upon the pile of com. 

Betty smiled. It was what she had been count- 
ing on. The little horse crunched away eagerly at 
the grain. He almost forgot the imminence of 
danger in his pleasure. Then, slowly and silently, 
inch by inch, Betty moved sidewise in a circle 
toward him, until she was far enough behind him 
so that he could not see her readily. Then she 
stepped quietly closer, at the same time loosening 
the noose in one end of the rope she carried. 

John and Betty had been spending much of their 
spare time for half the summer in practicing throw- 
ing ropes in western style, ever since Uncle John 
had shown them how, and told them about his ex- 
citing experiences on a ranch. Betty was not so 
clever at throwing as her brother, for her arms were 
not so long or muscular as his, but she thought that 
she should be able to manage so large an object as 
Billy’s head at a distance of ten feet. There was a 
little danger of his kicking, but she was not much 
afraid of his reaching her. 

Quietly she swung the lasso and let it go. An 
instant later it alighted over his ears, and as the 
startled horse jerked up his head, the noose slipped 
down over his nose and settled about his neck. 

183 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 


Billy jumped back with a snort of terror, and the 
rope tightened. Throwing his head about, and 
whistling with fright, the little horse backed away. 
Betty was dragged after him, but she kept a tight 
grasp upon her end of the rope, and dug her heels 
into the turf to slow him up. The noose tightened 
with the strain, until Billy could hardly get his 
breath. Half-way across the pasture the horse 
finally paused, gasping and puzzled. Betty 
promptly slackened the rope, though holding her- 
self ready for a fresh tug of war. Billy could 
breathe more easily now, and he stood still panting 
and shaking. 

The little girl began talking in a soothing tone. 
“ Poor Billy,” she said, “ did he have a hard time? 
Betty wouldn’t hurt him. Don’t you remember 
Betty? ” 

The horse eyed her wistfully. There was some- 
thing familiar about that voice. It brought back 
vague, happy recollections of a time when every- 
one was good to him, and he had been a petted dar- 
ling instead of a beaten outcast. But did he dare 
trust her? Jim had been his friend once, too, and 
Jim had whipped him. 

And then Betty gave a gentle tug at the rope. 
** Come, get your com, Billy,” she ordered quietly. 

There flashed across the horse’s dazed mind a re- 
membrance of the many times he had been led by a 

184 


JOHN AND BETTY. 


rope, now to receive food and again for a drink of 
fresh water. There lay the pile of corn only half 
eaten, and Betty was trying to lead him to it. A 
deep-seated instinct of obedience, inherited from 
centuries of ancestors, stirred in him. 

“ Come, Billy,” repeated the girl. 

And Billy came, at first slowly and hesitatingly, 
and then, as they neared the corn, more quickly and 
with greater confidence. Betty walked in front of 
him at the full length of the rope, and paused only 
when he reached the corn. Billy sniffed at the 
grain, started back as if she had offered to hit him, 
and then regarded the child doubtfully. 

“ Eat it up, Billy,” she encouraged him. 

The horse sniffed again, and then hunger over- 
came his lingering fear, and he began eating. 

Betty stood still for a couple of minutes. And 
then, inch by inch, she began to draw in the rope, 
gradually approaching the horse until she stood 
just beside him. Billy’s nervousness showed in his 
rolling eyes, but he did not try to run away. Then 
very softly Betty laid her hand on his neck. Billy 
jumped. The child reached out again, and stroked 
him gently, and this time the horse submitted, 
trembling. Presently he grew used to the soothing 
touch, and began eating again. 

Then Betty took from her pocket the arnica and 
soft rag. Veiy gentlv she began applying the 

185 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OE 

soothing lotion to his sore spots. Billy winced and 
looked anxious, but he did not snort or jump away. 
His confidence in Betty had been gradually re- 
stored. He could no longer believe that anyone 
who treated him so kindly and cared for him so well 
could mean him harm. 

Wlien Betty had finished with the arnica, she 
corked the bottle up again and returned it to her 
pocket. Then she stood in front of Billy, took hold 
of his chin, and made him look straight at her. 
Her expression was very serious, and she shook her 
finger at him reproachfully. “ Why did you hurt 
Belle? ” she asked. 

Billy tried to look down to make sure if the corn 
was quite gone, but the little girl held him firmly. 
“ Do you know you are a wicked, wicked horse? ” 
she demanded sternly. 

Billy’s delicate nostrils quivered, and he made a 
little whimpering sound. 

In an instant Betty’s sternness had dropped 
away. She flung her arms about the little beast’s 
neck, and hugged him tight. “Oh, Billy, Billy! 
How could you! ” she cried. 

Presently an idea shone like a bit of sunshine 
through her misty eyes. “ Billy,” she said, “ I 
don’t believe you ever meant to hurt anybody, did 
you? ” 

The little horse nuzzled the child’s soft cheek. 

i86 


JOHN AND BETTY. 

Betty accepted his answer. ‘‘ How would you 
like to be my pony, ’stead of pulling a calf wagon? 
There might maybe be enough in the pig.” 

Billy was perfectly agreeable, so Betty trotted 
off home quite cheerfully, after untying Billy so 
that he could gi-aze. 


187 


CHAPTER XVI 


BETTY AND BILLY 

Most of the evening was required to coax all the 
elusive coins out of the fat little pig, and then it 
was some time before Bett}^ was sure she had 
counted the amount correctly. John was visiting 
Aunt Bessie in the city, and so was not there to 
verify the sum as usual. And the little girl had not 
confided her scheme to Mother. Grown-ups, even 
the best of them, were so likely to throw cold water 
upon a plan in the bud. It was much better to 
bring an affair to a glorious completion before tell- 
ing about it. After much figuring, with puckered 
brows, Betty made the sum of all the nickels, dimes 
and pennies, including the dollar bill, just six dol- 
lars and forty-nine cents. She frowned. The pile 
of coin really looked like more. She wondered if 
horses were ever sold that cheap. Maybe bad ones 
were. Anyway, she would try. 

The next morning Betty tied the money up in a 
sugar bag. Then she went out in the garden and 
picked a big bunch of sweet moss roses for Belle. 
A few minutes later, she was hurrying across the 
1 88 


JOHN AND BETTY 

fields. Belle was lying on a big swinging couch on 
the porch, when the little girl arrived. Belle was 
nineteen years old, she had taught school a whole 
year at a little town six miles away, and so she was 
very grown up. Betty always approached her with 
awe, partly because she was so old, and partly be- 
cause she was so “beautiful.” For Belle had a 
face of placid sweetness, with full red lips, and big 
round eyes soft and brown like a cow’s. Betty 
noticed that the pleasant face was paler than usual 
this morning. 

“ Good-morning, Miss Belle,” said Betty, as she 
came up the steps. “ I brought you over some 
flowers,” and she held them out. 

“ Thank you,” said Belle, smiling. “ They’re 
real sweet,” and she sniffed the fragrant moss roses 
appreciatively. 

At that moment a wagon rattled down the lane 
and out into the road. The little girl turned 
mechanically to look. With a gasp of horror she 
recognized the outlines of the well-known calf 
wagon. But then with a sigh of relief, she saw that 
Billy was not along. Belle followed the direction 
of her look. “ Father will sell him,” she said, 
“ though I asked him not to.” 

Betty turned her earnest gaze upon Belle. 
“ Billy never meant to hurt you,” she said. “ He 
must have been just scared.” 

189 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 

“ He acted half crazy/’ replied the older girl, 
with a shiver of remembrance. 

Farmer Mann appeared around the house* 
‘‘ Wa-al, that’s settled,” he said, in a tone of satis- 
faction. Then seeing Betty, “ Good-mornin’. 
How’s your folks? ” 

“ V ery well, thank you,” she replied, politely. 
Then with an anxious look, “ What’s settled? ” 

“ I’m sellin’ Belle’s boss to Hi Pedrick fer sixty 
dollars. He’s got an errand to town, an’ he’s 
stoppin’ back fer the hoss afore dinner.” 

Sixty dollars! Betty turned pale. The little 
collection in her sugar bag shrank into insignifi- 
cance before that enormous sum. Of course, when 
one was arguing with one’s brother, one betted mil- 
lions, sometimes even trillions, in support of one’s 
own opinion, but sixty real dollars! The idea was 
stupefying. 

Betty found her voice faintly. “ I only have six 
dollars and forty-nine cents,” she said, holding out 
the bag, “ but you can have all of it, if only you 
won’t sell Billy.” 

Farmer Mann looked surprised. “ But I 
wouldn’t have a hoss like that on the place.” 

“ Well, then, let me buy him,” in despair. “ I’ll 
— I’ll earn the money quick’s I can. John’ll help.” 

Mr. Mann shook his head. “ I wouldn’t think of 
it. It’s bad enough havin’ Belle hurt, without 
190 


JOHN AND BETTY 

resldii’ your life, too. That boss has turned out 
mean, through and through. He ain’t fit fer de- 
cent folks.” 

Betty’s lips quivered. She felt she was about to 
disgrace herself by acting babyishly in front of 
strangers, and so she fled hastily. 

Farmer Mann stared after her with a frown. 
Belle interceded. “ She seems to feel real bad 
about it.” 

Her father’s chin set firmly. “ There hain’t no 
use sayin’ any more about it.” And he stallvcd into 
the house. 

Betty wandered disconsolately down into the or- 
chard to think it over. She perched on a fence and 
liid her face in her hands, her elbows braced against 
her knees; for a few minutes she had no hope. But 
it was not like the little girl to despair. Presently 
her mind was working feverishly to find some way 
out. She lifted her face from her hands, and stared 
straight ahead intently. Surely there must be 
something she could do. 

In the field across the road were several young 
heifers. She and John had often ridden them, 
when they believed themselves unobseiwed. By as- 
sociation of ideas, her thoughts traveled to the 
times when she had ridden Billy around the pas- 
ture. Would she ever ride him again? And then 
the brilliant idea came. For an instant it dazzled 
191 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 


her. That it might be dangerous did not make her 
hesitate for more than a moment, for Betty was not 
a timid child. 

As the little girl reasoned it, Farmer Mann was 
angry and wanted to sell Billy, because he believed 
the horse was bad. He did not think that Belle’s 
getting hurt was just an accident. Now if Betty 
could prove that Billy was really good and gentle, 
he might be saved even yet. And she could do it 
by riding him herself. A moment later Betty had 
jumped down from the fence, and was filling her 
pockets with apples. Then she hurried toward the 
barn. 

Betty peeped through the door of the barn, but 
it was not empty. Jim was there cleaning out the 
stalls. She would be in plain sight if she took any 
of the harness hanging up on the great hooks. 
After all, helping oneself to other people’s harness 
would require an explanation, and the little girl felt 
that explaining would ruin the whole plan. She 
walked around to the wagon house. The door 
stood ajar, and the place was empty, except for a 
row of boxes, in which were several laying hens. 
Betty slipped in softly and looked about. The 
hens eyed her suspiciously but made no noise. The 
little girl searched through a pile of old harness on 
top of a bin, and found a bridle, which was worn 
but still usable. She took also a roll of rope hang- 


JOHN AND BETTY 

ing on a nail, and a heavy blanket from the buggy 
seat. 

Billy looked up and whinnied softly as the little 
girl approached the gate of his field. He did not 
ai^pear frightened this time. Betty threw the 
bridle, blanket and rope over the top rail, and then 
followed them. Her expression was very serious 
as she faced the little horse. “ Billy,” she said 
soberly, “ I’m going to ride you, and you’ve got to 
be a good boy.” 

The little horse snuffed at her pocket enthusi- 
astically. 

“ That’s all very well,” said Betty firmly. “ You 
be a good boy first, and then you’ll get the apples.” 

By dint of a bribe of one apple, Betty succeeded 
in getting the horse to take the bit in his mouth. 
Then she dropped a second apple on the ground, 
so that he would lower his head enough to enable 
her to pull his ears out through the openings at the 
top of the bridle. Fastening the chin strap was 
comparatively simple. Next the little girl fastened 
each end of a length of rope to the bridle ring on 
each side of the horse’s mouth. The rope would 
have to serve as reins. 

Betty had considerable difficulty in getting the 
blanket up on Billy’s back. It was so high for her 
to reach or throw. But at last she succeeded. As 
soon as the little horse felt the weight on his back, 

193 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 

he began to tremble, and a wild look came into bis 
eyes. Betty promptly offered him another apple, 
and that seemed to reassure him. The little girl 
knotted two loops, some distance apart, in the re- 
maining piece of rope. Then she tied it about 
Billy’s middle as tight as she could. The roj)e 
would help to keep the blanket on, and the loops 
serve as rude stirrups. 

It is true that Betty felt some misgivings as she 
led Billy over beside the fence, climbed the rails and 
prepared to mount. The wild look when he had 
felt the blanket had worried her. She gave him the 
last apple, and as he chewed it, she spoke to him 
soothingly. “ We’ll just take a little walk across 
the field, before we go down to the house.” Then 
tensely, “And Billy, you must be good! Please! ” 
And she swung herself from the fence onto his 
back. 

Quickly the little girl slipped her feet into the 
improvised stirrups, gripped hold with her knees, 
and grasped the rope reins firmly. Billy quivered, 
and as he tossed up his head, Betty could see the 
whites of his eyes, as he rolled them in fear. 
“ Steady, Billy,” she said, and instinctively braced 
herself. 

The next instant the little horse sprang into the 
air, and landed with a shock. Then down went his 
head, and up went his back, and he seemed to be 

194 


JOHN AND BETTY. 

trying to bite his tail between his hind legs. Betty 
clung on desperately. She was afraid to fall off, 
or in her terror she would have done so gladly. 
“Don’t, — Billy — don’t!” she gasped. The rope 
was holding better than the little girl had hoped. 
Nevertheless the blanket was slowly slipping. It 
was impossible to keep a firm seat. But for her 
practice on the calves, Betty would have flown off 
at the second bounce. As it was, she clung desper- 
ately to the reins and to Billy’s mane, and implored 
him to stand still. 

Betty was quite sure she was going to be killed. 
As she bounced up and down in the air, she had 
time to view a vivid picture of her own funeral. 
Everybody was there crowded about the coflin, and 
they were all desperately sorry. Her grip slack- 
ened, she slipped, and all at once Billy stood still, 
and looked around at her. At last in the midst of 
his terror, he had recognized her voice. The little 
girl slid to the ground, and lay there all in a heap, 
gasping. Billy moved over to her, and nuzzled her 
hand contritely, but it was a long time before she 
moved. 

At last Betty tried to stand up, but she could 
not. She just fell back again weakly. She could 
hardly even lift her hand to pat Billy’s soft nose. 
“I know you didn’t mean to,” she whispered to him. 
It seemed so absurd to Betty to lie there on the 

195 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 

grass, staring up at the blue sky, and not be strong 
enough to get up. She was quite sure she was not 
hurt, for she moved all her limbs without pain. It 
was just that she couldn’t stand up. Wlien she 
tried, a dreadful dizziness made her flop down 
again. 

The sun was high in the heavens, when at last 
Betty succeeded in rising, still somewhat unstead- 
ily, to her feet. She looped Billy’s rein over her 
arm, and slowly let down the pasture bars leading 
into the lane. Then she led him once more to the 
fence, and prepared to mount a second time. Betty 
was shaky, but not greatly frightened, for she felt 
that she and the little horse had come to an under- 
standing. As Billy felt the child’s weight upon his 
back again, he quivered and turned to look at her, 
but he did not jump. The little girl patted his neck 
gently, and they started at a walk down the lane. 

There was no triumph, such as the little girl had 
foreseen, in that ride down the lane to the farm- 
house. Betty was too tired to feel anything very 
much. There was only a dull aching anxiety, a 
wonder if her plan was going to work after all. As 
she rode down past the barn, she met Jim starting 
toward the pasture with a hitching rope in his 
hands. Jim gasped; his eyes opened wide, and his 
mouth dropped slack. “ Wa-al, I’ll be switched! ” 
he ejaculated, staring. 


196 


JOHN AND BETTY 

Billy started to trot, and the little girl checked 
him gently. In the lane leading to the road, she 
saw the calf wagon already returned. The skinny 
horse had his head down, chewing at the grass ea- 
gerly. Farmer Mann and Pedrick the calf man 
were standing by the porch steps, waiting for Jim’s 
return. Betty’s lips quivered, but she rode 
straight on. And then Billy spied the horse 
trough, freshly filled with clear cold water. He 
gave a little whinny, made for it, and plunged his 
warm nose in with a gurgle of delight. 

Mr. Mann looked up at the sound. For an in- 
stant he appeared as astonished as Jim had. And 
then he walked slowly toward them. Betty looked 
down at him. He saw that the child’s face was 
white and drawn; there were red rings from weep- 
ing about her eyes, and down either side of her 
brief nose rolled two big tears. She spoke in a 
voice that quavered in spite of herself. “ You see 
— Billy isn’t — really mean,” she said. 

Farmer Mann cleared his throat, and patted 
Billy’s satiny neck. The little horse reached 
around and nuzzled his master’s hand with his soft 
nose. The farmer flushed and spoke a little huskily. 
“ I’ll never send another critter o’ mine to them 
breakers. They plumb ruin a good boss.” 

Pedrick strolled up. “That the boss you’re 
tradin’ to me, Hen? ” he inquired, 

197 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 

Farmer Mann turned deliberately, and hung 
Billy’s rein over his arm. Then he gently lifted 
Betty down to the ground, where she stood a bit 
uncertainly. At last he spoke. “ Wa*al, Hi, I 
reckon I changed my mind.” 

Billy was returned to his airy box stall in the 
barn, whenever he was not roaming the pastures. 
He did not have to work, for Belle would not be 
able to ride him for a long time, and he was too 
light for farm labor. Betty came over to see him 
every day, and the two were firm friends. John 
was the only person she ever told about the dread- 
ful experience she had had up in the j)asture that 
first day, and she confided in him only after a 
solemn promise of secrecy. All the satisfaction that 
she gave the rest was, “ Oh, I just rode him.” But 
Farmer Mann had had a close look at her w^hite 
face that day, and when she made light of the ad- 
venture, he wore a very knowing look, but said 
nothing. 

One good result that her adventure had attained 
was that Farmer Mann began to trust her like a 
grown-up about the farm. She helped him hitch 
and unhitch, drove the horses, kept Billy curried 
into a state of shining cleanliness, and did just 
about as she pleased. ^^Tien Mrs. Mann protested 
to her husband, he only pulled his short beard and 
smiled. “ That girl has more sense than most any 
198 


JOHN AND BETTY 

two men,” he declared. “ You needn’t to worry, 
Mary.” 

Betty was giving the colt a final polish off with 
the brush one morning, when Mr. Mann stopped 
at the window of the stall. “ That boss don’t get 
near enough exercise,” he said. “ Would you like 
to take him out? ” 

The little girl flushed with extreme delight. 
“ You — you mean ride him? ” she gasped. 

The farmer nodded and smiled. 

“ Oh, I’d love to.” Her tone was heartfelt. 

“ I reckon Belle wouldn’t mind your havin’ her 
old saddle,” said Mr. Mann, and he showed the lit- 
tle girl how to put it on, and cinch it up. Betty 
discovered that when she began to pull up the 
stomach strap, Billy suddenly grew very fat, and 
she had to wait until he forgot and let out his 
breath, before she could get the cinch tight enough 
to hold. 

The farmer shortened up the stirrups to the 
right length, and then he gave the little girl a real 
riding bridle without the ugly blinders. Billy 
looked very fine when he was all rigged out, and 
Betty was immensely proud as she climbed into the 
saddle. 

“ I wouldn’t ride him very far jest at first,” was 
]Mr. ^Mann’s only caution. 

Betty nodded gaily, and they set out at a trot. 

199 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 

“ Sets ’er boss’s straight as a little queen,” said 
Jim, looking after her. 

The little girl rode Billy home, where she was 
greeted with vast admiration by her brother J ohn. 
The children spent the rest of the morning taking 
turns riding the horse about the neighboring fields, 
pausing now and again to let him eat grass, or pull 
an apple from one of the trees in the orchard. 

After that Betty took the little horse out every 
day. First thing in the morning she rode in to the 
post-office for the mail, racing with the farm bo^^s, 
who were taking in the milk in their rattling buck- 
boards. The races never lasted long, for Billy 
flashed by the clumsy teams like a streak of four- 
footed lightning. Betty delighted in his easy 
swiftness, and loved to let him out, as much as he 
enjoyed stretching his slim legs over the flying 
road. Then one day the little girl discovered an 
old buggy^ in the carriage house. John helped her 
clean it up, and they painted and patched it until 
the little carriage looked fairly presentable. Then 
they borrowed an old set of spare harness from 
Mr. Mann, polished all the buckles and cleaned the 
straps, and finally they hitched Billy up. At first 
the rattling wheels of the carriage worried the little 
horse. He would stop, and look around with a re- 
proachful expression, as if asking why anyone had 
fastened that young mill behind him. But the 
200 


JOHN AND BETTY, 

buggy was light, and Billy soon grew used to the 
noise. 

With the buggy, John and Betty could go about 
together. And every morning they drove Mother 
in to the station, and met her again in the evening 
to bring her home. Also they gratefully did a 
great many errands for the Manns. 

When Billy was out of harness, he followed the 
little girl around like a big dog. When she stood 
still, he drooped his head over her shoulder, with a 
silly, sentimental expression. He was also very 
fond of nibbling the edges of her collar and cuffs, 
and was the cause several times of Mother’s 
protesting over their ragged appearance. 

A firm friendshij) also sprang up between Billy 
and Tommy Tucker, the yellow kitten, now grown 
sleek and pretty. Tommy evidently regarded the 
little horse as a foster parent, and followed him all 
about the place. Billy took great pains not to walk 
on the kitten, and spent hours washing him with his 
big tongue. In fact the horse kept Tommy as wet 
as a muskrat most of the time, but the kitten ap- 
peared to enjoy it. 

Betty taught the little horse to play tag in the 
orchard. She would slap him on the flank sud- 
denly, and then run away as fast as she could go, 
and dodge behind a tree. Billy would chase her, 
and he soon became quite expert at dodging. 

201 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 

Presently he would catch her shoulder gently with 
his lips. Then he would turn about, kick up his 
heels joyfully, and dash away, glancing back to see 
if she were chasing him in turn. The little girl could 
never catch the colt, no matter how hard she tried, 
so she always gave it up in a short time. Then she 
would walk away as if she had stopped playing. 
Billy would come trotting up to find out what was 
the matter. As soon as he was close enough, she 
would turn quickly, slap him and run away again. 
Then they went through the whole performance 
once more. 

The rest of the summer slipped away happily for 
the children, and the fall set in, introduced by a 
very light and welcome attack of whooping cough. 
Neither John nor Betty was really sick. Even the 
cough amounted to very little, for IMother soaked 
them inside and out with vaseline, until their com- 
plexions turned a dull green. As Betty said, their 
coughs were so well oiled, there wasn’t a wheeze. 
And the slight illness had the result of inducing 
Mother to put off sending the children to school for 
another year, and she gave them lessons at home in- 
stead. The youngsters studied them in the morn- 
ing, after Mother had started for the office, and re- 
cited them to her in the evening after supper. 
Mother noticed that they always knew their work 
much better on disagreeable wet days, when it was 


JOHN AND BETTY 

not mnch fun to go out, than on beautiful sunny 
ones, when the woods and fields seemed to call with 
voices that the children could not resist, 

Betty had, however, one strong cause for anx- 
iety. Farmer Mann wanted to sell Billy. Belle 
had received so severe a shock in her fall from the 
little horse’s back that she had given up all idea of 
wanting to ride him. There was no other use which 
the farmer had for the little colt, and as he ex- 
plained to Betty, “ It was foolishness to have the 
little critter eatin’ his head off, an’ doin’ no work.” 
Mr. Mann did, however, promise to see that the 
horse got a good home when he was sold. 

Betty found herself very reluctant to part with 
the little horse. Of course, he wasn’t hers, but just 
the same the child spent many sad hours over the 
idea of never seeing him again. She even broached 
the subject to Mother, stating that she thought she 
could earn back Billy’s cost, Farmer Mann hav- 
ing previously promised to let her have the horse 
at the price he had asked the calf man. But 
Mother, court of last resort, did not see what could 
be done. 


203 


CHAPTER XVII 


THE GREAT HORSE RACE 

It was two weeks before the big county fair 
early in October that Dan finally made what ap- 
peared to the little girl a possible suggestion. 
Betty was nibbling absently at a stick of chocolate, 
and leaning against his candy and papers booth 
down at the station, when the boy looked up sud- 
denly from an advertisement he had been reading. 
“ Why don’t you enter Billy in the free-for-all? ” 
he asked. “ Anybody can get in for five dollars, 
and there’s a prize of a hundred for the fellow who 
wins.” 

Betty looked up, interested. “VHiat’s a free- 
for-all? ” she inquired. 

“ Wlw ” he hesitated. “ Oh, it’s just a race 

you can get any horse in, no matter what age he is, 
and all that. It’s mostly the farmers’ kids who 
go in for it. Billy might stand a chance to win.” 

The little girl’s face gi’ew suddenly very bright, 
and then it darkened again. “ But so long as 
Billy’s Mr. Mann’s horse, if he won a prize, 
wouldn’t it go to Mr. Mann? ” 

204 


JOHN AND BETTI 


Dan looked j)uzzled and rubbed his nose. Then 
his brow cleared again. “Not if you’d got an op- 
tion on him first.” 

“ What’s an option? ” eagerly. 

The boy wrinkled his forehead, and struggled 
with an explanation. “ Well, an option — an op- 
tion’s like that man in Pennsylvania, where we used 
to live. lie paid some money to get a right to buy 
a farm, an’ then he found coal in it. Well, the coal 
belonged to him, because he had the o]Dtion.” 

Betty looked doubtful, but still Dan’s sugges- 
tion stuck in her head. That night the little girl 
consulted the red pig a second time in Billy’s be- 
half. This time John was there to assist with the 
arithmetic, so that counting up was not such a long 
and doubtful process. The children found that 
there were just ten dollars and fifty-six cents in the 
little pig. 

The next morning the children hurried over to 
the Manns’. They caught the farmer just feeding 
the cats. As soon as all three pans were full of 
milk, the children spoke in chorus, “We want an 
option.” 

“ Sufferin’ bob cats! ” said Farmer Mann. “ I 
hain’t deef. What be you wantin’ a option on? ” 

“ Billy ! ” said Betty. 

“ Billy! ” repeated John. 

Mr. Mann smiled. He had little idea that the 
205 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 

children could really buy the horse. “ W a-al, I 
don’ know 

Betty interrupted his drawl firmly. “Would 
five dollars buy an option for two weeks?” she 
asked. 

The farmer’s expression changed. Perhaps 
there was something in it after all. He knew the 
children’s uncle had money. “ I reckon it would,” 
he replied. 

Betty began counting out the change from a bag 
with John’s assistance. Presently she looked up 
from the process. “ We’d want it in writing,” she 
said. Once she had heard Uncle John tell Mother 
to always have everything in writing. 

Mr. Mann chuckled. “ All right.” And he 
drew a much thumbed note-book from his pocket, 
tore out a blank leaf, and scribbled on it with a 
pencil. Then he handed it to the child. “ That 
shows that you’ve paid five dollars outa sixty on 
Billy,” he said, “ an’ have two weeks t’ finish 
payin’.” 

The little girl folded the slip of paper, and made 
John put it carefully away in the inside pocket of 
his jacket. Then she handed over the five dollars, 
and the deal was made. 

As the children hurried in to the post-office to 
change the remaining five into a crisp postal order, 
they began to have their doubts of the scheme. 

206 


JOHN AND BETTY 

“ It’s an awful lot of money to risk,” John said. 

We could both get new skates or a bob sled for 
that much.” 

Betty set lier lips firmly. “ I guess Billy’s worth 
more’n a bob sled.” 

“ Yes, but s’pose he doesn’t win? ” 

“ He’s got to.” 

J ohn recognized that there was no use in arguing 
with feminine psychology. “Well, anyway, I’m 
going to ride him.” 

“ You are not,” positively. 

“ But jockeys are always boys.” 

“ I don’t care. Guess I’m as good as a boy,” 
and she elevated her nose two inches higher in the 
air. 

“ Maybe they won’t let you entei’, when they 
know you’re a girl.” 

“ I’ll sign my name E. Stamford. That 
might be Edward, you know. And when I once 
get there, I gviess there won’t anybody stox) 
me.” 

Betty had the best of the argument, for as it 
happened, the entering money was hers. Still 
John kept on complaining on general principles, 
while trying to think of another good point for his 
side. But presently his sister turned to him with 
an air of sweet reason. “ What’s the use grouch- 
ing? ” she said. “ You know I’m the lightest, an’ 
207 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 

Billy goes the best for me.’’ That happened to be 
the truth, and so it was settled. 

A few days later E. Stamford received a receipt 
for the five dollars’ entrance fee, the number 5, and 
the announcement that the race would start from 
the judges’ stand at 3 p. m. in the afternoon of 
October tenth. Mother was very busy and tired 
these da 3 "S, and the children put off telling her 
about the race, until finally they didn’t tell her at 
all beforehand. They were in the habit of keeping 
things from Mother, that might Avorry her, until 
after they were all over. Dr. Gray had specially 
ordered that she must not be bothered about little 
things. Betty Avas not quite sure about Avhether 
her entering the race Avas a little thing or not, but 
she was certain Mother Avould Avorry OA^er it, per- 
haps even prevent it, and so she put off the an- 
nouncement. 

A little before noon on the day of the race, the 
children put Billy’s riding bridle, blanket and 
saddle on the floor of the buggy. Then they 
hitched him up to the carriage, after asking Mr. 
jMann’s permission to take the horse out. They 
drove over to the fair grounds, a little more than a 
mile aAvay, very sIoavIj^ so that Billy might not be- 
come tired or Avinded. Once arrived, they found a 
hitching post outside the croAA^d of tents and booths. 
Here thej^ tied Billy, and unhitched the carriage, 
208 


JOHN AND BETTY 

sliding it back a little way, so that he might not 
have to support the weight of the shafts. Then 
they tied the blanket around him so that there 
might be no chance of the horse’s catching cold 
from the fresh wind that was blowing. Betty 
looked much surprised at these unusual atten- 
tions. 

The children had two hours to wait before it was 
time for their race, so they wandered about the 
nearest booths, examining everything with eager 
eyes, and often running back to make sure Billy 
was all right. They drank two glasses of very pink 
and flavorless lemonade, though they did not feel 
it was worth the nickel a glass that they had to pay. 
And then they bought two bags of peanuts from a 
vender, in preference to getting ice-cream, because 
they thought the peanuts would last longer. 

In company with a crowd of country folk, the 
children inspected the largest pumpkin in captiv- 
ity, and thought what a wonderful Hallowe’en 
lantern it would make, not to mention the number 
of pies one could get out of it. Betty figured it 
would fill at least thirty. They also admired mon- 
ster potatoes and turnips, each one large enough 
for a whole meal for their small family. And then 
above the squawking of prize chickens, they heard 
a deep-toned grunting. “ Hogs,” said J ohn. And 
they were. Betty thought she had never seen such 
209 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 


huge fat ones. They looked almost like baby 
hippos. 

“ I’m glad it wasn’t that kind of pigs who chased 
us that time,” she said. “ All they’d had to do to 
that old fence would have been to lean up against 
it, and over it would have gone.” 

There were beautiful Holstein and J ersey cattle 
lined up for inspection, too. The bulls were enor- 
mous creatures with horns like buffalo. But Betty 
fell in love with a beautiful little white cow, with 
the softest brown eyes in the world. “ Maybe, if 
we win the race, we might buy her too,” she sug- 
gested. “ It would be awf’ly nice to raise our own 
milk.” 

But when the little girl had asked the price of 
the animal, the children turned away abruptly, 
and walked in silence for quite five minutes. 
At last John spoke thoughtfully. “ Maybe a 
millionaire might pay five thousand for a cow,” he 
said. 

Half an hour before the race, the children re- 
turned to Billy, took off his blanket and harness, 
and then rubbed him off with a cloth they had 
brought, until he shone like satin. That finished, 
they saddled and bridled him, making sure that the 
cinch was firm and tight. John helped Betty tie 
the big number 5 on her sleeve. The boy was 
rather glad now that he was not the one responsi- 
210 


JOHN AND BETTY. 

ble for riding, and Betty was feeling just a little 
shaky and frightened, but she tried hard not to 
show it. 

Betty had no difficulties about her costume, for 
Mother, recognizing her daughter’s tomboy tend- 
ency, dressed her for every day in a middy blouse, 
jersey, and wide bloomers, instead of forcing her 
into the unworkman-like ignominy of “ regular girl 
clothes.” As she sat Billy at the entrance to the 
race track, Betty forcibly turned her glance from 
John’s anxious face, and sought distraction in the 
contents of the nearest booth. It was full of dolls, 
dressed in every imaginable way. There were 
French peasant dolls dressed in wonderfully em- 
broidered red and blue. There were Hallowe’en 
witches on broomsticks with little black cats stuck 
on behind. Red-faced farmer dolls in blue over- 
alls, shouldered bright clad gypsies and prim city 
dolls. And above them all sat a wonderful lady, 
dressed in shimmering white satin. She had golden 
curls, wonderful dimples, big brown eyes, and 
“ sure ’nough ” eyelashes on lids that would close 
when you laid her to sleep. Even in her hour of 
stress, the little girl was conscious of a weak femi- 
nine longing for that beautiful doll, but she hid it 
securely. 

At last the race track gate swung open, and 
then John spoke for the first time. “ Maybe you 
211 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 

better not go,” he said, laying his hand 
on her rein. “ Yon might get hui‘t. I’ll ride 
him.” 

But Betty shrugged him aside. “ I’m not 
afraid,” she said, trying to speak firmly, and she 
rode in. Other horses and riders were waiting for 
the race under sheds along one side of the track, 
and other steaming horses with little gigs behind 
them seemed to have just come from racing, and 
were being rubbed down. Betty had borrowed 
Belle’s riding whip, and she held it firmly in her 
right hand, and her reins in her left, as she saw the 
other riders do. A groom approached her. “ Kids 
ain’t allowed in here,” he said. 

“ I’m in the race,” said Betty with fine disdain, 
showing her sleeve with the big 5. 

The race was called by the starter through a 
huge megaphone, and Betty trotted her horse 
toward the line with the rest. The starter stared 
at her sharply, for she was quite the youngest rider 
of the lot, but she managed her mount easily, and 
Billy appeared gentle and well-behaved, so the man 
said nothing. The little girl pushed Billy into 
place, and then looked over the other competitors. 

The horses in the free-for-all were not regular 
racers, but long-legged, raw-boned farm horses, 
ridden by young men and half-grown boys. Evi- 
dently the stakes were not high enough to attract 
212 


JOHN AND BETTI 


the professionals. Betty gave a sigh of satisfac- 
tion; she had so much the better chance. 

The starter was speaking. “A two-mile straight 
away,” he was saying, “ four times around the 
track. Ready, go! ” and he fired a little pistol into 
the air. 

At the sound of the gun, Billy gave a great 
bound of surprise, and then was off down the track 
like a four-footed bullet himself. Betty nearly fell 
off, but in a moment she had recovered a firm seat. 
Then she glanced about, and to her vast surprise, 
found herself well ahead of the procession. The 
other horses were not even galloping. And then 
the little girl began to think. Billy was strong and 
long-winded, but she doubted if he could gallop 
full speed for two miles. In a moment she had 
pulled him down to a swift hard run, that would 
eat up the miles, without wearying the little beast 
so quickly. The van of the other racers Avas catch- 
ing up now. A long-necked, long-legged graj’' 
forged slowly ahead, then a massive, deep-chested 
bay. It pained Bettj^ to see anything run ahead of 
Billy. The taunting grin that the second rider 
gave her added irritation to her hurt, but still she 
did not try to repass them. She was watching her 
mount for endurance now, riding him as easily and 
with as little jolting as she could. 

As they rode the track past the sheds, the little 

213 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 

girl recognized a splash of red sweater with a dark 
patch above it as John, and waved her hand to him* 
A shrill shout of encouragement responded. J ohn 
had not possessed the dollar admission fee, and so, 
together with other dollarless youths, he had 
climbed on top of the sheds to view the race. 

Betty dropped gradually to fifth place in the van 
of half a dozen horses, who were running well 
ahead of the rest. This place she held persistently, 
speeding Billy up into a lope when necessary in 
order to retain it. She was gaining confidence now, 
and her first anxiety subsided. It seemed to her 
that she was racing, too, with every swift beat of 
Billy’s hoofs. She delighted in his easy grace and 
endurance. The dappled horse just behind was 
panting like a steam engine. The dark bay in front 
stumbled more than once. Billy himself was sweat- 
ing, and foam flecked his lips and flanks, but his 
breath came deeply and easily, and he held to his 
sure stride. 

Then the field swept past the judges’ stand on 
the fourth lap, and suddenly the little girl found 
that she was being left behind. The other riders 
had let out their mounts, and were driving to win. 
Betty let her reins go slack, and the little horse 
broke into a gallop. 

The crowd around the track and on the shed tops 
were cheering wildly now. “ Go it, kid ! ” some- 

214 


JOHN AND BETTY 

body shouted, and Betty straightened in her saddle. 
It was the first time she had ever failed to resent 
that epithet. 

Billy was galloping full stretch, but still he was 
losing, slowly but surely. The dappled horse, that 
he had kept ahead of before, was almost past him. 
Betty gasped, and bent low in the saddle. Then 
she reached back with her whip, and flicked Billy’s 
haunch sharply once. The colt had never forgotten 
Jim’s beating. With a snort of terror he leaped 
forward desperately. 

Get on, Billy! ” cried the little girl. “ You’ve 
got to win! You’ve got to win! ” 

Old Lucy’s racing blood told now. The colt, 
thoroughly roused, put forth the best that was in 
him, and the dappled horse was quickly left behind. 
Billy’s ears lay flat back on his head, his rolling 
eyes showed the angry whites. A kind of hatred 
for those puffing beasts about him seemed to obsess 
the colt. He nipped the flank of the dark bay 
horse just ahead. The bay, startled, jumped aside 
and lost a yard. With belly close to earth, and 
slender legs stretching to the full, Billy forged 
slowly up. It seemed an age to Betty before the 
straining bay was safely distanced, yet really it was 
only a moment. 

Half of the last lap was finished. The home 
run was in sight, and yet there remained three 

215 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 


racers that the colt must pass or lose. Betty almost 
despaired. Frantically she urged the little beast to 
run. And then she sensed a difference. The other 
horses were almost done; laboring and panting, 
they were merely holding on until the line was 
passed. But Billy, with his clean-cut limbs, had 
found that third wind, that fierce endurance, which 
comes with racing blood. 

With every leap he speeded up. One horse was 
passed, and neck and neck, he raced for second 
place. A moment and his panting nose was even 
with the gray leader’s flank. 

Betty gasped and prayed. If only he could pass 
the gray! But the finish was so near! And then 
the rival jockey saw that black nose creeping up 
beside him. He struck his mount. The gray broke 
step and stumbled. A moment, and he gained his 
stride again, but Billy had come almost even. 

A continuous roar of shouting filled Betty’s ears ; 
her head turned giddy with excitement; a little 
blood was running from her nostrils. For a second 
she hardly knew nor cared who was winning, but 
in the midst of her dizziness, she still clutched the 
reins and kept her seat. 

Then all at once there was a perfect crash of 
cheers. Someone clutched at Billy’s rein; he 
reared, and Betty slid off backward into the arms 
of a big, sunburnt farmer. He steadied her on her 
216 



If Only He Could Pass The Gray 










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wobbly feet. “ Grit, clear grit ! ” he said, as he held 
a brilliant handkerchief to her bleeding nose. 

Won by a nose! ” somebody was saying. 

Betty struggled to steady her reeling world. 
“ Who — who won? ” she managed to gasp through 
the handkerchief. 

Why, yourself, to be sure,” replied the farmer. 

The little girl wondered vaguely whose nose had 
won. She supposed Billy’s, since hers was hardly 
in condition for doing anything just at present, not 
even breathing. And then a lot of peoj)le were 
shaking hands with her, and a man with a broad, 
fat face and a kind smile was holding out a wad of 
yellow-backed bills. Betty took them dazedly. 
“ Better count them,” he advised. 

She did so, and found there were ten ten-dollar 
notes. Betty gasped, and then took a fresh grip 
upon herself. It would not do to show undue ex- 
citement even in the face of wealth. “ Thank 
you,” she said faintly. Then she thought of John, 
and she held out one of the bills. ‘‘ Will you please 
get me a ticket for John? ” she asked. “ He didn’t 
have any dollar to get in.” 

"‘Who’s John?” asked the ring man with a 
smile. 

“ Oh, he’s my brother; he has on a red sweater 
on the shed.” 

The man laughed. “ Well, I reckon you can 
217 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 

both see the rest of the races free of charge/' he 
said, and he handed the little girl two tickets. 

Betty accej;)ted the tickets gratefully, and then 
looked about for Billy. He was being led from the 
track toward the sheds by a groom. The little 
girl’s nose had stopped bleeding now, and she felt 
stronger, so with a murmured word of thanks to 
the farmer for his handkerchief, she hurried after 
Billy. The groom was the same one who had tried 
to chase her off the track when she first entered. 
But now his manner had changed gTeatly. He 
touched his cap with respect. “ I’ll tie ’im up, an’ 
rub ’im down for yer. Miss,” he said. 

And then a shrill shout sounded from the top of 
the shed, a cry that the little girl recognized. 
‘‘ That’s my sister! ” shouted John. 

It was the proudest moment of Betty’s short life. 
Then she stretched her neck back to see, and an- 
swered. ‘‘Oh, John!” she called. “I got two 
tickets for the races. Com’mon around to the gate, 
an’ bring the spare blanket for Billy.” 

“ Aw right.” 

As the groom rubbed the sweat from the tired 
little horse, Betty paused to give him a joyful hug, 
before she went to join John. Out of sight of the 
man, she gave the colt one sniff of the precious roll 
of bills. “ You’re my boy now,” she whispered in 
his soft ear. 


218 


JOHN AND BETTY 

And then a voice interrupted. A lanky farmer 
with a gray goatee had stopped beside her. “ Give 
ye three hunderd fer thet there colt,” he said, roll- 
ing a chew of tobacco to the other side of his mouth. 

The little girl stiffened. “ Billy isn’t for sale.” 

“ Three fifty, then,” and he spat placidly. 

Betty clenched her hands. “ I wouldn’t sell him 
for three million ! ” she said, and this time she 
meant three million real dollars. 


219 


CHAPTER XVIII 


THE CIRCUS 

John and Betty sat in the grand stand, en- 
tranced, while the beautiful racers, wearing a funny 
harness on their legs that prevented them from 
breaking out of their trot, dashed around the track, 
drawing queer little two-wheeled racing gigs be- 
hind them. In the pride of ownership, the children 
felt quite sure that the wonderful Billy could have 
beaten even the best of these. 

The races ended about five o’clock, and the chil- 
dren, having shouted themselves quite hoarse, pre- 
pared to go home. They found Billy much re- 
freshed, for he had rested, and had also cleaned up 
a generous box of oats, which the groom had given 
him. John climbed into the saddle, and Betty 
scrambled up behind, and held on by John’s waist, 
while they rode out and down to where they had 
left the buggy. They began now to feel a sudden 
anxiety as to whether they should have left the car- 
riage all by itself. But as they approached, they 
saw it was still in place, and they heaved a sigh of 
relief. 

The pink lemonade man was just packing up to 
220 


JOHN AND BETTY 


gOy as the children rode up. ‘‘ Hi, there! he 
hailed them. ‘‘ Hain’t you got the sense t’ know 
thet if you go oif an’ leave yer wagon in a crowd 
it’ll be stole?” 

Well, it hasn’t been,” replied Betty with dig- 
nity. 

“ An’ a right good reason, too. I’ve kep’ my eye 
on it the hull afternoon, an’ driv off three packs o’ 
boys.” 

The little girl flushed. “ Thank you,” she said. 
And then, though she had no desire for it, “ Have 
you any lemonade left? ” 

The man shook his head, “ All sold.” But he ap- 
peared mollified. 

The children hitched Billy up as quickly as they 
could, and he stepped out splendidly on the way 
home, so that it was still early when they reached 
Farmer Mann’s. He was on the way in to supper 
before milking the cows when they drove into the 
yard. John pulled up. “ Could you wait just a 
minute? ” he called. 

Mr. Mann turned. ‘‘ Jim’ll help you put the 
boss away.” 

“ It’s not that 

“ You know we have an option on Billy ’til to- 
morrow,” Betty interrupted. 

“ An’ we’ve come to pay it off,” J ohn finished 
triumphantly. 


221 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OE 


“Wa-al, I’ll be!” said Farmer Mann, coming 
down to the step of the carriage. 

John took the precious roll from his inside 
pocket, where Betty had had him place it. He 
stripped off six tens before the farmer’s aston- 
ished eyes, and handed them over. “ Five change, 
please,” he requested firmly. 

Mr. Mann grinned, and dug five very crumpled 
ones out of a worn bill folder in his pocket. John 
held a ^vhispered consultation with Betty. Then, 
“ I’ll give you ten more for the buggy and har- 
ness.” 

The farmer demurred. Then, “ Well, might’s 
well. I hain’t no use fer it.” 

John handed over another crisp ten. Then he 
produced the option. Mr. Mann receipted it in 
full, and added a bill of sale for buggy and harness. 
Then he chuckled. “ Did you get the money outa 
your uncle? ” he asked. 

Betty smiled and shook her head. “ No. We 
raced Billy in the free-for-all, and he won. — ^At the 
fair, you know,” she added in answer to the blank 
astonishment on the man’s face. 

Farmer Mann’s mouth dropped open, and then 
he laughed heartily. “ Wa-al, that’s sure one on 
me!” he ejaculated. “You’re smart ones! The 
next time I’m in a boss deal, I reckon I’ll have you 
manage it for me.” 


222 


JOHN AND BETTI 


The children put Billy to bed in their own little 
barn that night. Betty had spread the single horse 
stall deep with dry gTass and leaves, until she could 
get the usual straw bedding, and she had bought 
some corn from Mr. Mann for his supper. She 
had also arranged with the farmer to deliver a suf- 
ficient quantity of hay, corn and oats the next day 
to last for some time. 

The children were late preparing supper that 
night, but Mother acce]3ted their explanation that 
they had been to the fair. Still she was puzzled at 
their air of subdued elation. It was only after the 
dishes had been cleared away that Betty solemnly 
spread out on the table three crisp ten-dollar bills. 

Mother’s eyes opened wide. “ Where did you 
get all that? ” she asked. 

And then the tale tumbled out so fast that 
Mother could hardly make head or tail of it for a 
while. She turned quite pale when Betty told 
about the race, though it is true that the little girl 
did not confess about how frightened she had 
been. Then the crowning touch was a visit to 
Billy in the stable, headed by John swinging a 
lantern. 

Billy pricked up his ears and whinnied, and 
Mother patted his nose gently. Then she turned 
and smiled. “ My dears,” she said, “ when you de- 
cide to buy an elephant, or run for the presidency, 
223 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 

I have no doubt you will succeed, but please let me 
know beforehand/* 

“ All right,” promised Betty. 

“ Only we won’t want all that — for a while,” 
added John. 

And so Billy Mann became Billy Stamford over , 
night, and one of the family. 

My country, ’tis of thee-e, 

Swee-eet land of libert-ee,’-^ 

sang Bettj^ at the top of her voice, as she swung on 
the limb of a big apple tree near the front i^orch. 
She was proud of her voice, a strong clear soj)rano, 
and exercised it regularly, Mother’s only stipula- 
tion being that she do the exercising outdoors. 
To-day, moreover, the little girl was feeling su- 
premely contented. Things had been going very 
well financially for the children since the advent of 
Billy. They had started a mail seiwice for the 
town, where rural free delivery did not reach, and 
quite a number of people paid them twenty-five 
cents a week for the privilege of not having to go 
to the post-office every day. To the mail delivery 
they had added errand service, charging ten cents 
each. Business was increasing every day, and the 
profits covered the cost of Billy’s food, and occa- 
sional shoes, and left a comfortable margin over. 
As Uncle John said, on his latest visit, “ If those 
224 


JOHN AND BETTY 


youngsters grow up, and go into business together, 
Rockefeller will have to look out for his laurels.” 

‘‘My heart wi-ith rapture thrills, 

L-ike that abo-ove,’^ 
finished Betty. 

“Do you feel sick?” inquired John, unsympa- 
thetically, from where he sat on the grass stringing 
a home-made bow. 

“ I’m practicing to be a grand-opera singer,” re- 
plied the little girl, calmly. She was quite used to 
her brother’s taunts. 

“ It sounded more like grand uproar,” com- 
mented Peter Wayland, pausing on his way to the 
porch. It was Sunday afternoon, so Mother was 
home. 

Betty tossed down a twig scornfully, though she 
no longer resented Mr. Wayland’s visits, since he 
had been signally defeated in the siege upon 
Mother’s hand and heart. “ Is that a joke? ” she 
inquired, coldly. 

Peter Wayland avoided the question. “ Why 
do you want to be an opera singer? ” he asked. 

The little girl put on her best lecturing air. 
“ Well, you see, you have to be a genius or else get 
married. People don’t make fun of old maids, if 
they’re geniuses.” 

The man’s eyes twinkled. “ But suppose you 
fall in love? ” 


225 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 

Betty turned up her brief nose. ‘‘ Falling in 
love is silly.” 

Peter Way land flushed guiltily. 

‘‘ No. I’m going to sing, and paint pictures, 
and write books, and maybe some time I’ll be presi- 
dent.” 

But here John felt it was time to assert himself. 
‘‘ No,” he said firmly, “ I’ll be president.” 

Betty frowned thoughtfully, and then she 
yielded. “Well, you can be president, and I’ll 
be vice-president, but you’ll have to do as I 
say.” 

“ History in the making,” murmured Peter 
Wayland, as he proceeded toward the front door. 

Betty looked after him suspiciously, but his face 
was quite grave. 

At this moment a loud but discordant whistling 
distracted Betty’s attention. “ My Bonnie lies 
over the water,” piped Bobby Wayland, his cheeks 
distended with effort. And then, perceiving his 
two chums in their front yard, he made a funnel 
with his hands and shouted, “ Hev! Do you know 
what?” 

“No. What? ” replied John. 

“ The circus is cornin’.” 

John dropped his bow, and Betty slid hastily 
down out of the tree. “ Where? ” 

Bobby explained. “ It isn’t here yet. It’s just 
226 


JOHN AND BETTYa 

cornin’. There’s a man down-town puttin’ up the 
posters.” 

“ Let’s go see,” proposed Betty. And a minute 
later the three children were trotting down-town, 
kicking up clouds of dust with immense enjoyment. 

True enough, down by the schoolhouse a man 
was pasting up gorgeous posters on an old board 
fence. The children found it fascinating to watch 
him, for the pictures all went up in strips. First 
j^ou got a bit of brilliant green jungle including a 
lion’s tail and one leg. The next strip contained 
more jungle, and the mighty beast’s stomach and 
other hind leg. Then finally you got his massive 
snarling head and front legs, completing the fear- 
some ensemble. Then there were ladies in pink 
tights, dancing on ropes, more ladies and gentle- 
men standing upon one leg on the backs of gallop- 
ing horses. There was a strong man lifting a 
weight labeled 1,000 pounds, and there was an In- 
dian snake charmer winding enormous serpents 
around her neck. But the picture that caught and 
held the little girl’s attention was that labeled, 
“ Infant Prodigy. See him ride the untamable 
wild horse of the West!” And there followed a 
fancy picture of a little hoy in sombrero and chaps, 
astride a bucking broncho with smoking nostrils. 
The little boy was smiling carelessly and waving 
one hand. 


227 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF. 

Betty sighed enviously. Some people have 
all the luck,” she muttered. And then she fell 
thoughtful and silent. 

AJl that week before the circus arrived, Betty 
was privately occupied in her own back yard. 
Even her brother was barred out of the great se- 
cret, and bribed not to peek. From each session 
the little girl issued with various bumps and purple 
bruises, now with a skinned elbow, again with a 
swollen knee, until Mother became thoroughly 
alarmed and demanded to know the reason. Then 
it was discovered that Betty had rigged a tight 
rope, made of clothes-line, between two trees, and 
had been trying to learn to walk it. As she ex- 
plained, “ Long’s I hold onto something, I can 
stand on it, even if it does wobble, but soon’s I let 
go I fall off.” And she sighed with discourage- 
ment. 

Mother made Betty promise not to try to walk 
the tight rope any more. For a day the little girl 
was very sad, but the morning that the circus ar- 
rived the light had returned to her eyes. Early in 
the day, the children drove over to the fair grounds 
and watched the men putting up the tents. There 
were glimpses of fascinating cages, and the roaring 
of lions. Billy tossed his head, and stamped his 
dainty hoofs. “ Don’t be afraid. They can’t get 
you, Billy,” his mistress reassured him. 

228 


JOHN AND BETTY. 

The pink lemonade and peanut men were al- 
ready there, selling their wares to the curious coun- 
try folk who had gathered. Preparations were on 
for the grand parade before the afternoon show. 
The children drove Billy into the picnic gi*ounds, 
where he would not be frightened, and tied him to 
a tree. Then they went back to join the crowd 
along the road, waiting for the parade, which was 
supposed to begin in a few minutes. 

At last it came, a red painted wagon carrying a 
noisy band in front. Then followed prancing 
horses with gay riders. And great wagons full of 
beautiful ladies, and drawn by eight enormous 
horses. And then, in shuffling procession, six huge 
gray elephants, with gayly painted houses on their 
backs, and behind them a fat white rhinoceros, 
who kept making little rushes at the crowd, as if he 
was cross, and had to be held back by his keeper, 
who carried a heavy knotted club. And then there 
were the cages, with glaring lions, a vividly striped 
tiger, who pretended to be asleep, a black bear, and 
a couple of hyenas, who chattered their teeth sug- 
gestively. Finally there came a big brown camel, 
two cunning little zebras, and four white mules, 
who were pulling a big wagon in which some funny 
clovms were turning somersaults and standing on 
their heads. 

Betty gave a sigh of perfect bliss, and then re- 
229 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 


membered. “ I wonder where’s the Infant Prod- 
igy? ” she said, 

“ Don’t know. Let’s follow them,” said John. 

The children got Billy, and drove along behind 
the clowns, as pleased as if they were the whole cir- 
cus. A clown with a funny red nose pretended to 
fall over backward, and he landed right on Billy’s 
back. Billy was so surprised he hopped right into 
the air, and nearly upset the buggy. “ Beg your 
pardon,” squeaked the clown. And he stood up 
on Billy, and hopped back into the wagon 
again. The crowd laughed very loudly, but John 
drove a little farther back of the clowns after 
that. 

Down by the post-office, the children met Bobby. 
He climbed into the buggy with them, and sat on 
the floor. “ Isn’t it great? ” he said. 

“ You bet! ” agreed John. 

But Betty was silent in thought. Presently she 
became aware of what Bobby was saying. “ I’ve 
got to earn my ticket to the circus,” he said. “ I 
thought it was cornin’ yesterday, an’ I played 
hooky from school, so Peter won’t give me the 
money.” 

The little girl’s tHrifty side was aroused. “ Let’s 
all earn our tickets. How much are they? ” 

“ Fifty cents.” 

“ Well, we could carry water for the elephants. 

230 


JOHN AND BETTY 


The boys in books all do. Or ” and she was 

silent again. 

“ Or what? ” urged John. 

“ Well, it’s just an idea. I don’t know if it’d 
work. But you know how ticklish Billy is. It’s 
his third rib. If you scratch it, he nearly jumps 
out of his skin. Well, I thought if we called him 
a western broncho — he might be, by descent, you 
know — and if the Infant Prodigy isn’t here, maybe 
they might let me dress up and ride instead. I 
guess I could stick.” 

Bobby’s eyes bulged. “ You’d never dare! ” 

“ Wouldn’t I just! I guess it’d be worth three 
tickets.” 

“ You might get hurt,” objected John, seriously. 

“ Billy wouldn’t hurt me.” 

“ Well, maybe the Infant Prodigy’s here, so 
they wouldn’t want you.” 

“ We’ll see.” 


231 


CHAPTER XIX 


FAME 

At the fair grounds the children tied Billy up 
again, and then proceeded to hunt a task whereby 
they might earn their tickets to the afternoon show. 
But there seemed to be about a hundred farm boys 
all eager to carry water and run errands. When 
Bobby, with the idea of being helpful, proceeded to 
offer armfuls of hay from a pile to the elephants, he 
was promptly chased out. The workmen did not 
want to be bothered with children. So Betty, as a 
last resort, decided to try her great plan. 

Near one of the side show tents were gathered 
some of the clowns who had ridden in the big 
wagon. They seemed to have nothing much to do, 
so Betty approached them with her question. “ Do 
you know where the manager is? ” she asked a little 
nervously. 

The clowns all gi'inned. “ I’m the manager,” 
replied the one who had jumped on Billy, only he 
spoke now in a deep bass tone instead of a squeak. 

Betty tried not to look surprised. “ Well, I — 
we wanted to know if the Infant Prodigy is going 
232 


JOHN AND BETTI 


to ride the broncho this afternoon. We didn’t see 
him in the parade.” 

“ He’s got the mumps,” replied the clown, start- 
ing on bass and ending with a squeak. 

“ Oh, good! I — I mean I’m very sorry, but 
I’ve got a — a broncho. He jumps and bucks and 
everything just like a real one, if I tickle him. 
And if I was all dressed up and everything, they’d 
never know the difference. And all I’d want 
would be three tickets.” She finished a little 
breathless. 

The clowns all laughed very loud, and Betty 
turned red. “ Billy does make a good broncho,” 
she insisted. “ If you’ll lend me a saddle and 
bridle, I’ll show you.” 

“ I’ll take you,” said the clown with the squeak 
and bass. And explaining, “ You can try it.” 

The children ran and got Billy quickly. AVhen 
they returned a few minutes later, they found the 
clowns had got out a huge inlaid saddle, a bridle 
covered with bangles, and even a pair of trousers 
with wonderful furry chaps, a red neckerchief and 
a sombrero. They were all chuckling as if it was a 
huge joke. Billy did not like the appearance of 
the clowns, but John held him tight, while the men 
saddled him. Betty pulled the trousers on over 
her clothes, tied the red neckerchief, and clapped on 
the sombrero at a rakish angle. A clown helped 

233 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 


her to mount. The little girl set her toes firm in 
the stirrups, and gathered the heavy reins up 
short. 

Now look out for his heels,” she warned. And 
she rubbed the little horse with her heel in the third 
rib. 

Billy snorted and jumped into the air. When 
he landed, he pawed the ground angrily. The lit- 
tle girl tickled him again. This was past a joke, 
and he began to bounce around like a rubber ball. 
When Betty was out of breath, she pulled Billy in 
and quieted him. Then she rode up to the clown. 
“ Isn’t he good? ” she asked, proudly. 

“ Pretty good ridin’, sis,” admitted the clown, 
squeakily. “ You’re clever for a young ’un.” 

Betty flushed with pleasure. 

Just then a voice shouted hoarsely from the side 
of the big tent, and all but the squeaky clown 
started for it hurriedly. “ Wait here a minute,” 
he said. “ Performance startin’. I’ll be back.” 

“How about the three tickets?” asked Betty 
anxiously. 

The clown reached inside his costume to his 
pocket, hauled out some change, and counted out a 
dollar and a half. “ I reckon you earned it.” The 
voice shouted again. “You wait here,” called 
back the clown as he hurried away. “ Be back in 
a minute.” 


234 


JOHN AND BETTY 

gave John and Bobby each fifty cents, 
carefully pinning her own share into her breast 
pocket. “ I’ll come in after I’ve done my stunt,” 
she promised. 

The little boys hurried away to the big tent, and 
Betty waited. Five, ten, fifteen minutes went by, 
and the little girl lost patience. She was missing 
the show. The manager must have forgotten her. 
Of course, she might have tied Billy up, bought a 
ticket, and gone right in, but Betty was an honest 
child. Presently she rode over to the rear entrance 
of the big tent. The guard was off duty, and she 
and Billy went right in. The grand procession 
was just coming off, and everyone was dashing 
about, getting ready for the first act. No one paid 
any attention to the child. The little girl pulled 
Billy to one side, out of the way of the elephants 
just coming off. Billy snorted and trembled, but 
he behaved himself. He seemed dazed by the rush, 
noise and color of it all. 

Betty rode close to the entrance to the ring. She 
could see beautiful ladies in ballet skirts, covered 
with spangles, dancing on the backs of satiny- 
skinned white horses, as they galloped around the 
ring. In the centre stood a man in a tall silk hat, 
snapping a long black whip. Each time he 
snapped the whip, the ladies would turn about, hop 
into the air, or change horses, each one jumping 

235 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 

upon the mount behind her. Nervous, the little 
girl put them down. 

And then some clowns stepped to the side of the 
track, each holding some big hoops covered with 
gay-colored tissue paper. Among them Betty 
recognized the clown with the squeak}^ voice. The 
clowns held the hoops up, and the ladies jumped 
right through the paper, landing upon their horses 
again each time very prettily. The audience 
clapped and shouted, and Betty clapped, too. 
Presently the ladies came galloping out, and the 
little girl drove Billy farther forward to give the 
ladies room to pass. 

The squeaky clown saw the little girl now and 
recognized her. He waved at her wildly. Betty 
accepted his gestures as her signal to come on. She 
clamped her knees tight on the saddle, and clucked 
to Billy. He cantered forward. The band struck 
up a lively tune, and Billy went into action. In 
the first minute Betty thanked heaven the saddle 
was deep. She could never have stuck in her old 
shallow one. The little girl had not touched the 
colt’s ribs; but there was no need. The shouting, 
the band, the excitement were enough. The little 
horse surpassed himself. He kicked, he bucked, 
he bounded into the air. Now he stood on his hind 
feet, now on his front ones. Out of the comer of 
her eye Betty saw the squeaky clown holding 
236 


JOHN AND BETTY 

a hasty consultation with the man in the silk 
hat. 

On the gi’and stand sat Mrs. Patterson, the 
“ beetle lady,” as Betty called her. She had taken 
her Sunday School class to the circus, so that they 
might see the performance with the benefit of a 
“ moral influence ” to guide them. “ I do hope the 
little boy won’t fall off,” she said. 

And then the rider’s hat blew off, and the little 
girl’s fair curls fell about her shoulders. “ Betty 
Stamford! ” screamed Mrs. Patterson, in horror. 

A moment later a clown had seized the kicking 
horse’s reins, and was dragging him out. On the 
grass outside the big tent, they lifted Betty down 
out of the saddle. The man with the silk hat had 
followed out. “ What’s all this nonsense? ” he 
shouted. 

The squeaky clown looked foolish. 

“ Didn’t I — ride — ^him? ” demanded Betty, still 
gasping. 

“ It was all a mistake,” said the squeaky clown 
hmnbly, in quite an ordinary tone of voice. 

“ You have any more mistakes like that, Joe,” 
bellowed the man with the silk hat, “ and I’ll fire 
you. You see after that kid now, ’til she’s fit to go 
home.” And he strode back into the tent. 

“ Wanta sit down? ” asked Joe meekly. 

“ I couldn’t sit do^vn, except on the front 

237 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 

of me,” replied Betty. “ What made him so 
angry? ” 

“ He’s the manager. I was only joking you be- 
fore. I didn’t mean for you really to go on.” 

Betty thought a minute. “ Well, didn’t I do all 
right? ” 

“ You did fine, kid. You’ll maybe make a great 
rider some day. But there was an old hen up in 
the grand stand recognized you, and was screaming 
fit to split. I expect there’ll be a row.” 

Betty looked anxious. “ I expect I’d better go 
home.” 

Joe smiled. “ I reckon there’s no rush. I’ll 
stand treat to some lemonade and pop-corn, after 
you git them fancy duds off, and then we’ll hitch 
up the broncho, an’ you c’n be all ready to start 
when them boys o’ yours comes out.” 

The little girl enjoyed her treat with the clown 
very much. The only disappointing thing about it 
was that the clown was very discouraging about 
chances for advancement in a circus. He evidently 
regarded it as no suitable profession for an ambi- 
tious man. And Betty, who had been seriously 
considering offering to join, changed her mind. 
Perhaps her other ambitions would suffice after all, 
without adding that of becoming a circus rider. 

When Betty was comfortably full of pop-corn 
and lemonade, the clown hitched Billy up to the 
238 


JOHN AND BETTY 

tied him to a tree. Then, with many 
expressions of esteem, he left the little girl, and 
went back to the big tent to finish his act. Betty 
would have liked to go in to see the rest of the per- 
formance, but the clown had explained that there 
was only half an hour left — hardly fifty cents’ 
worth — and, besides, Betty felt an inward shrink- 
ing from coming under Mrs. Patterson’s shocked 
eyes. So the little girl untied Billy, and made an 
extra cushion for the buggy seat with his blanket. 
Then she drove out to the road, and sat waiting, 
patiently holding the lines, until John and Bobby 
should come out. 

At last, with a final blare of the band, the per- 
fonnance closed, and the people came streaming 
out. The two boys were among the first. Betty 
whistled, and they started toward her. Then Mrs. 
Patterson’s high voice shrilled out, “ Betty Stam- 
ford!” 

“ Get in quick ! ” hissed the little girl. ‘‘ Giddap, 
Billy!” 

The boys tumbled in, and Billy cantered swiftly 
down the road. For a time silence prevailed, except 
for the thudety thud of Billy’s feet. It was the 
awestruck silence that accompanies one condemned. , 
At last John cleared his throat. “ I s’pose she’ll 
make a row.” 

Betty nodded glumly. 

239 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 


That was all that was said, until Betty stopped 
the buggy in front of Peter Wayland’s, and Bobby 
climbed out. “ Good-bye,” said Bobby, in the tone 
of one who bids a last farewell. 

The little girl slapped Billy with the lines, and 
rattled off up the road. 

When the children reached home, they unhitched 
the horse, and put him away in the barn quickly. 
Then they hurried into the house, and started get- 
ting everything ready for Mother. Like other 
people with bad consciences, they were careful to 
have everything especially nice. Betty cooked 
some cauliflower with cream dressing, because she 
knew it was Mother’s favorite vegetable. And 
when Mother reached home, supper was already on 
the table, steaming hot. Mother was much pleased 
with the cauliflower. The children did not tell her 
right away what had happened. As Betty said, 
what was the use in spoiling her supper? 

After supper, John and Betty cleared up 
quickly without a grumble. When they were quite 
through, they went into the parlor, where Mother 
was reading the paper. John fidgeted with the 
leaves of a book, and Betty carefully rearranged a 
vase on the mantel. At last the little girl spoke. 
“ Mamma,” she said. 

“Well, dear?” 

“ There was something happened to-day.” 

240 


JOHN AND BETTI 


“ Yes? ” And Mother laid down her paper. 

“ ’T wasn’t much,” contributed John, gruffly, 

“ To make such a fuss over,” finished his sister. 

Mother looked puzzled. 

“You see, we just ” And then the door- 

bell rang. Betty paused abruptly, and the two 
children cast frightened glances toward the hall. 
Then with one accord they bolted through the din- 
ing-room to the kitchen, and out the back door. 

Mother was very much surprised and rather wor- 
ried by their odd behavior. What could they have 
been up to? She answered the now frantically 
ringing bell herself, and admitted a stern-visaged 
Mrs. Patterson. Altogether, Mother was rather 
relieved than otherwise by the Sunday School 
teacher’s tale, despite its luridness. She had feared 
— well, she had not quite known what she had 
feared — but it had been something terrible. 

When Mrs. Patterson had at last gone after 
fully relieving her mind, Betty came slowly in from 
the barn. Much to the little girl’s surprise, Mother 
did not punish her, but just hugged her up close, 
as if she was glad to have her safe home, and no 
bones broken. And then IMother spoke very seri- 
ously about the dreadful risks Betty had taken, and 
made her promise never to do so again. And when 
Mother spoke about how terribly they would all 
feel if Betty had been killed doing that rash and 
241 


JOHN AND BETTY, 


foolish thing, the little girl cried, and J ohn sniffed 
a bit, and then pretended he hadn’t. 

It was a much subdued Betty who drove in town 
for the mail the next morning, and hitched Billy in 
front of the post-office. She had not raced with a 
wagon once all the way in. Three or four little 
boys were playing marbles on the sidewalk. They 
looked up. “ That’s her,” said one excitedly. 
“ That’s the girl what rode the broncho in the cir- 
cus. Gee, but he bucked ! Her name’s Bett3\” 

“ How do you know? ” asked another little boy, 
jealously. 

“ I was there, an’ Mrs. Patterson, she said so. 
An’ Betty lives here.” 

“ Gee!” 

Betty had straightened perceptibly, and her nose 
had risen at least two inches higher in the air, as 
she started into the post-office. It was her first 
taste of fame. 


242 


CHAPTER XX 


BETTY DECIDES TO BE A FAMOUS AUTHOR 

Betty scuffed up the dry leaves and frowned 
discontentedly. 

“ What’s the matter? ” asked John, who was 
whittling a whistle out of a piece of stick. 

“ I want to be famous,” replied his sister. 

The boy paused in surprise. “ What for? ” 

“ Why, Peter says that everybody who amounts 
to anything is ambitious. An’ if you’re ambitious, 
then you have to get to be famous. I think I’ll be 
a famous author.” 

John sniffed impolitely. “ Yes, you will,” sar- 
castically. 

“ You know I can tell nice stories, so why can’t 
I write them? ” 

The boy looked doubtful. “ Maybe. I like 
your stories all right,” generously, “ but I wouldn’t 
pay any money for them.” 

Betty’s blue eyes sparkled angrily. “All right 
for you! I won’t tell you any more stories. I’ll 
just write them all, ’n’ make a million dollars. So 
there ! ” 


243 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 

Betty was as good as her word. She limited up 
a quantity of scrap paper, sharpened two stubby 
pencils with care, and sat down at ^Mother’s desk 
to prove her abilities to a doubting world. 

The little girl thought deeply. A good stoiy 
ought to be exciting, quick-moving and unusual. 
Should she write a novel to begin with, or just a 
children’s story? Finally, she decided that a chil- 
dren’s tale would be easier to start with. She could 
try a novel afterward. 

Betty nibbled her pencil. The first thing was 
choosing her characters. Animal stories were al- 
ways interesting, so the young author decided to 
include her favorite, a Bengal tiger. Then, of 
course, there had to be a hero, a heroine and a diffi- 
cult situation, which the hero gallantly overcomes, 
at great risk to himself. 

After long thought the great idea came. The 
little girl’s eyes lighted, she set her lips deter- 
minedly, and proceeded to write with some diffi- 
culty, in a round but straggling hand, the following 
title: 

Ben Kemp and the Bengal Tiger/" 

Ben Kemp was a newsboy, twelve years old, 
who lived in a tenement vnth his invalid mother. 
Ben sold papers, and his mother se\ved, but to- 
gether they had not saved enough to pay the rent, 
244 


JOHN AND BETTY 

At the end of the day, the despairing Ben came 
upon a poster: 

“ NOTICE 

Biggest and Savagest Bengal Tiger Escaped 
FR o:\[ Barnum and Bailey Cirrus. 

$2.3 Reward for Information."" 

Of course, Ben, like all dauntless heroes, pro- 
ceeded to hunt for the tiger, instead of running 
home as fast as he could go, like most mere boys. 
And at last the newsboy found the ferocious beast 
stalldng the heroine, a rich little girl in fancy 
clothes, who was running down the street in happy 
innocence, to buy oranges from a vender. 

“ Suddenly a terrible thing happened.” Betty 
was so excited as she approached the climax, that 
she could hardly write legibly, or fast enough. 
“ With a blood-curdling cry the tiger sprang upon 
the defenseless child, bearing her to the ground, 
and was about to crush her head in his mouth when 
Ben gave a shout, and without stopping to think a 
single second, he jumped on the tiger’s back, lifted 
up his little fist, and hit the tiger on the head with 
all his might.” 

The authoress gasped excitedly, and then pro- 
ceeded with the thrilling scene of the tiger’s cap- 
ture, after he had stunned Ben with a blow of his 
paw. Of course, the newsboy’s heroic act had dis- 

245 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTUllES OF 

tracted the beast’s attention from his first victim, 
and saved her from injury. 

Hero and heroine were taken to the rich little 
girl’s home, and Mrs. Kemp sent for. JNIeanwhile, 
a doctor examined Ben, and found “ he wasn’t 
hurt, only two ribs broken, and a little bruzed.” 

Upon Mrs. Kemp’s arrival, the door was im- 
mediately oj)ened by a liveried servant. “Are you 
Mrs. Kemp?” the servant asked. 

“ Yes, I am.” 

“ Will you please step into the parlor a min- 
ute? ” 

“ Yes, I will.” 

As she entered the room who should rise from 
one of the deep-cushioned chairs but the little girl’s 
mother, Mrs. Barton. IMrs. Barton started for- 
ward to shake hands with Sirs. Kemp when sud- 
denly she stopped, and stared at Sirs. Kemp, who 
stared back. Finally Mrs. Kemp said doubtfullv, 
“Hilda?” 

“ Bessie? ” said Sirs. Barton, also doubtingly. 

Then they clasped each other in an embrace, each 
murmuring, “ Sister! ” 

Betty leaned back, deeply touched by the final 
pathetic scene. Then slowly, the pride of accom- 
plishment came to the young authoress. She gazed 
with awe upon the written page. It had been 
granted her to create a story, a bit of immortal lit- 
246 


JOHN AND BETTY, 


erature. It would be a long time before tlie child 
would learn that, in nine cases out of ten, a manu- 
script is still only a piece of paper. 

The little girl adjusted the pages in the right 
order, with tender respect. Then she had another 
bright idea. The news of her glorious success 
should burst upon the family all at once. Quickly, 
she selected a large envelope, and addressed it to 
the editor of a juvenile magazine, carefully adding, 
“ Grown-up Editor.” So precocious a genius as 
herself was not entering the children’s contest. 

Betty had grown a little weary after her efforts, 
but she forced herself to write a careful letter to 
accompany the story. Christmas was drawing 
near, and the little girl explained that she would 
like to have the money for her tale in time for that 
occasion. She thought five dollars would be 
enough. The letter closed politely, and Betty 
signed her full name. For a moment she observed 
the signature with a faint dissatisfaction. Then 
she carefully added, “Authoress.” 


247 


CHAPTER XXI 


AN UNAPPRECIATED GENIUS 

The (lays could not pass fast enough for Betty, 
while she was waiting for the answer to her letter. 
Already she was planning what she would do with 
the expected check. But the money did not seem 
so important to her as the signal triumph that her 
success would mean. How proud and pleased 
Mother would be! And John would have to apolo- 
gize for his impolite remarks. 

When the letter did come at last, it was not the 
little girl who received it after all. Mother had a 
holiday, and had kept Betty home to try on a new 
dress, so that John had gone by himself for the 
mail. Neither John nor his mother noticed that 
the bulky envelope, mixed with the papers and or- 
dinary letters, was addressed to Miss instead of 
Mrs. Elizabeth Stamford. 

Mother supposed that the letter from the maga- 
zine contained advertising. She opened it out of 
respect for an excellent magazine, and was aston- 
ished to find an encouraging letter to an unknown 
author. The reply had been compiled by an editor 
248 


JOHN AND BETTY 

whose kindness exceeded even his sense of humor, 
Mother glanced back at the name, and then she 
smiled proudly. Why, it must be Betty who had 
received this nice letter. An encouraging refusal 
was a good deal for a little girl of ten. 

Interestedly, Mother turned to the story. Her 
eyes widened at the title, but she began the story 
with an attempt at serious interest. Presently her 
lips twitched helplessly, she chuckled, she laughed. 
At this point Peter Wayland arrived, and Mother 
handed him the tale, without a thought of hurting 
Betty’s feelings. 

When the young authoress appeared presently, 
Peter’s face was red, and he was uttering shouts of 
glee. In one horrified instant Betty recognized 
her manuscript. They were laughing at her! 
Mother was chuckling too. The little girl turned 
to flee, but Peter saw her. 

“ Come here, Betty,” he called. “ This is a 
great story.” 

The child approached, suspiciously. 

“ Now this Ben Kemp is what I call a real hero,” 
said Peter, heartily. “ Doesn’t mind a little thing 
like thumping a tiger on the head.” He chortled 
mischievously. And that last touch — making 
them sisters — that’s genius.” 

Betty reddened slowly, and her eyes flashed. 
Suddenly, she stepped forward, seized the papers, 
249 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 

and sprang back with them. She scowled at the 
young man. “ I think you’re horrid, horrid, hor- 
rid!” she cried, and fled swiftly, not heeding 
Mother’s shocked, ‘‘ IVhy, Betty 1 ” 

Down through the orchard, and across the fields 
the child ran, battling with rage and disappoint- 
ment. It was cruel to have failed, but worse to be 
laughed at. Giddy, childish castles in the air 
crashed to earth, and the little girl tried to run 
away from the havoc. In a far corner of the 
woods Betty finally paused to rest. Seated on a 
fallen tree trunk, she read her letter, and reviewed 
the situation solemnly. 

Peter’s laughter had opened the little girl’s eyes. 
She was not deceived by the kind letter. She knew 
very well that “ Ben Kemp ” was a failure. But 
with Betty disappointment was a tonic. She was 
far from discouraged. On the contrary, she ar- 
rived at a settled determination to succeed in such 
a fashion that everyone would be sorry for having 
laughed at her. The child began to realize that 
success meant hard work and failures to start with, 
but she was not dismayed. 

Betty never harbored resentment for a personal 
injury very long, so that she took Mother’s rebuke 
for her display of temper meekly when she arrived 
home. And Peter made his peace easily the next 
day with a box of candy. But John found that 
250 


JOHN AND BETTY 


there was a spice of danger in whispering, ‘'Ben 
Kemp,” or growling suggestively. 

The budding authoress now performed all her 
work in the privacy of the stable, hiding the results 
in an old feed bin until completed. She confided 
in no one but Billy and Tommy Tucker. These 
two could not give her away. 

Like most young authors, Betty sought after 
realism, and all the stories were sad. There was 
the tale of the romantic young Southerner, who 
went to war, and died on the battle-field, because 
the girl of his heart married his younger brother. 
There was also a first attempt at a poem, which re- 
counted the hazardous adventures of three small 
kittens, set adrift in a rowboat. Probably this 
was one of the earliest samples of very free verse. 
A melancholy tune Mother was fond of playing on 
her violin inspired “ Nicodemus.” This was a tale 
of the Civil War. Of course, the hero died glori- 
ously, and the moon came out, and gazed down 
upon his still form in mournful grandeur. There 
was a refrain, pronounced in sad and dropping ac- 
cents: 

“ Nicodemus! 

Nicodemus ! 

Nicodemus ! ” 

Betty particularly enjoyed reciting this poem, 
and Billy’s polite attention was all that could be 

251 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 

desired. Tommy Tucker, however, was not so de- 
corous in the presence of literary genius. He in- 
sisted upon chasing his tail at the saddest moments, 
patting Betty’s pencil, when that instrument was in 
action, prancing back and forth across the paper, 
leaving his own comments, in the shape of little 
footprints, and in other ways showing his scorn for 
all serious matters. 

The young author took great pleasure in her 
own efforts. She had been telling John stories for 
a long time. This was like telling them to herself 
in her own way. John often insisted upon changes, 
particularly if the hero was having too hard a time 
of it. Moreover, she saw now a prospect of glit- 
tering fame some day. And in the meantime, she 
spent many pleasant hours in a world of dreams 
and impossible things come true. 

It was a brisk Saturday afternoon in the late 
fall, when Betty had been across the fields to visit 
Mrs. Mann. The farmer’s wife regaled her with 
fresh cookies and milk. The cookies were really 
delicious. They had conversed sedately about 
chickens, and the prospects for winter wheat, and 
^ discussed the new clothes, which Mrs. Mann’s sis- 
ter had just purchased in the city. The little girl 
was returning in a very cheerful frame of mind, 
when she met John down in the orchard. The hoy 
grinned with all the natural, masculine love of teas- 
252 


JOHN AND BETTY 

ing, and chanted softly, “ Nicodemus, Nicodeinus, 
Nicodeinus! ” 

Betty gasped, and her brother dodged expect- 
antly. But the attack did not come yet. The 
young authoress flew to the barn, and searched ex- 
citedly in the feed-bin, where her treasures of 
thought had been concealed. They were gone. 
Swiftly, she darted out the door again. “John! 
Where did you put them?” 

“ Put what? ” innocently. 

“ You know very well,” with rising rage. 

“ Nicodemus? 

“ Oh, I could shake you! Where did you put 
my stories and poems? ” 

“ Is that what they were? ” with well-simulated 
surprise. 

There ensued an exciting chase through the 
orchard and around the barn. It was lucky for 
John that he could run faster than his sister. As 
it was, he was hard put to it to keep ahead at times, 
especially as he wasted breath on occasional gig- 
gles. It was seldom that he could successfulh" 
tease Betty, and he was reluctant to cease so pleas- 
ant an amusement. Finally, the chase led around 
to the house, in the back door, noisily through the 
hall, and into the parlor. 

“ Help, help!” shouted John in mock terror, as 
he dashed behind Mother’s chair. 

253 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 

‘‘Mercy, children!” said Mother. “What are 
you doing? ” 

“ He — took my stories,” cried Betty, gasping 
with rage and weariness. 

“ John shouldn’t have done so without asking 
you first, dear,” declared Mother. “ But they’re 
all right here,” indicating a little pile of papers on 
the table. “ He showed them to me, and I think 
they’re very good.” 

The authoress paused in surprise. 

Mother looked severely at the boy. “John 
might well be proud if he could do as well. I think 
you show a great deal of talent, Betty.” 

The child’s anger vanished. Slowly, she smiled. 
“ I do like to write them. Do you suppose I could 
ever sell any, and have them reall}’^ printed? ” 

“ I’m sure you could,” said Mother, encourag- 
ingly. “And I’ll be glad to help you. You 
needn’t do any more of your penmanship exercises, 
or reading lessons. You read very well for your 
age as it is. Instead, I’d like you to write me part 
of a story, or a little essay every day, and I’ll cor- 
rect them when I come home. And be sure to look 
up any words you are not sure of in the dictionary.” 

Mother’s decision appeared to Betty as a signal 
triumph. She had long ago \vearied of the silly 
phrases in her script book. “ Handsome is as 
handsome does. Children should be seen and not 

254 


JOHN AND BETTY 


heard. Be good and let who will be clever.” 
Writing these phrases over ten times, in a more or 
less vain attempt to follow the graceful swing of 
the Spencerian copy, impressed the little girl as 
the last degree of boredom. As for reading, she 
had no trouble with Kipling or Milton, and even 
took considerable pleasure in some of Shake- 
speare’s plays, so that lessons in an ordinary 
“ reader ” were not a long-felt need. 

Betty found that thinking up a new subject for 
almost every day kept her fairly busy. Also, 
Mother, for some inscrutable reason, seemed to 
have very little appreciation of poetry, or else 
Betty’s endeavors in that line did not appeal to her. 
However, the little girl, herself, took great pleas- 
ure in writing verses, and continued to do so to a 
considerable extent, so that a great poet was not 
lost to the world through discouragement. 

The young author’s method of building verses 
was very simple. She wrote the first line, then 
took the last word of it, and made a row of rhymes 
down the side of the page, such as: time, lime, 
chime, dime. From these she selected whichever 
word appeared to her best suited to the subject 
matter of the poem, and then made a second line 
to fit it. Such matters as poetical feet did not dis- 
turb her greatly, so long as the verse seemed to flow 
along fairly easily. 


255 


JOHN AND BETTY 


John felt surprise at first at the praise accorded 
his sister's work, and then a mild spirit of emula- 
tion, which took the form largely of satire. After 
much travail of spirit, he produced his first and last 
poem, which received the unstinted admiration of 
the family. There was no title. It began abruptly: 

‘‘One fine day in the middle of the night, 

Two dead men got up to fight. 

Three blind men came to see the fray. 

The deaf and dumb guys hollered ‘hooray!’ ” 

Thereafter John rested upon his literary laurels. 


256 


CHAPTER XXII 


AN AUTHORESS AT LAST 

The most surprising thing about Mother^s criti- 
cisms, in Betty’s eyes, was the fact that she had no 
appreciation of realism, and apparently did not 
care even for excitement. Mother seemed best 
pleased when the little girl wrote about some small, 
homely thing, of no consequence to the world at 
large. The young author could not understand 
this failing in her friendly critic, but nevertheless, 
she humored it occasionally. 

When the magazine came home that month. 
Mother encouraged Betty to enter the short story 
contest. She explained that lesser triumphs really 
ought to go before the greater ones. Also, she ex- 
plained that she did not believe that the editor 
would appreciate a very deep or difficult story. It 
would be better to write something simple but in- 
teresting. 

The subject for the month was a hunting or fish- 
ing story. Betty gave the matter her best atten- 
tion. After Mother’s hints, she reluctantly gave 
up the idea of a tiger hunt on elephants in India, 

257 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 

and tried to bring her intellect to bear upon the 
common things of daily occurrence. Of course, 
there was fishing. It was good fun, too. And she 
had seen trout fishing, when Uncle John took her 
up to the mountains two years before. He had 
even let her hold the rod for a few minutes. 

Gradually there grew up in the little girl’s mind 
the story of the Big Trout of Brodhead Pool. It 
was the tale of how two girl chums set forth to 
catch a famous trout, that had eluded other camp- 
ers summer after summer. They were not expert 
fishermen, but, depending on their remarkable 
luck, they had promised not to return to camp 
without having caught the big fish. 

Alice was the impractical one of the two, so much 
so that she actually forgot to bring along the lunch- 
eon, which was intrusted to her keeping. Without 
food, except for some small fish, which they smoked 
over a fire of twigs, the two worked until well along 
in the afternoon. They were almost ready to ad- 
mit themselves defeated, when suddenly the long- 
expected strike came. Even then, it was not until 
the magnificent trout leaped clear of the water, in 
his fight for liberty, that the girls were sure they 
had hooked the right one. 

There followed a long and exciting fight, in 
which every minute the chums expected to see the 
line snap, or the trout leap off the hook. But at 
258 


JOHN AND BETTY. 

last, themselves almost as wet and tired as the fish, 
they caught him in the landing net, and brought 
him ashore. He was a beautiful fish, with glitter- 
ing silver sides, and delicately colored gills. His 
size was remarkable for his species, and the girls 
were delighted at the idea of taking him back to 
camp, and being able to laugh at all the people who 
said that the two could not possibly catch him. 

But presently, as Alice stood watching the poor 
fellow gasp, a shadow came over her face. — This 
phase of the story was quite unanticipated by the 
young author herself. — ^Alice sighed. “ I wish we 
had a camera,” she said. “ I’m afraid they won’t 
believe it.” 

“ I guess they’ll have to believe their own senses,” 
replied the other, scornfully. 

But Alice picked up the beautiful trout, and 
flung him back into the pool. There was a splash, 
a flash of silver, and then the clear water was still. 

Nobody believed the chums’ story when they re- 
turned hungry, tired, and sunburnt. They were 
well laughed at, and their fish story quoted as the 
tallest one in camp. But Alice never would admit 
that she was sorry for having saved the gallant fish, 
who had fought so bravely for his life. 

Betty was quite touched by her own story. 
Even Mother liked it. So it was sent off by the 
next post. 


259 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 

Then, late in November, came the first big snow, 
and the little girl forgot all about literary aspira- 
tions in the joy of coasting. Over on Balding 
Hill there was a thrilling slide down a long slope, 
and over a drop down onto the lake. It was pos- 
sible to coast a good part of the way across the 
small body of water, when the ice was firm enough 
to make doing so reasonably safe. 

Bobby Way land attained the height of his popu- 
larity at this season, for he was the proud possessor 
of a big bob-sled, capable of holding six or seven 
children, if they crowded on tight. John and 
Betty always had the first right to ride, since they 
were Bobby’s particular chums, and other children, 
who had no sleds, took turns on the rear seats. 

Bobby was a generous child, even to the extent 
of letting John steer half the time. As everyone 
knows, there are few positions in childhood that can 
comj)are with the excitement and responsibility of 
steering a big coaster full of children down a bad 
and crowded hill. The heavy sled traveled fast, 
and it was difficult to avoid all the unprivileged 
youngsters, who were taking trips by themselves 
on one-passenger conveyances in the “ Henry ” 
class. 

There was another big bob-sled, which liked to 
race with them. When a race was in progress, 
each sled was packed to capacity and over, for 
260 


JOHN AND BETTY 


weight meant greater speed. An expert driver 
held the guide ropes of each, the sleds were lined up 
side by side, and a crowd of little boys pushed them 
both over the brink at the word of command. 
There was a big gum tree on the edge of the bank, 
which marked the finish point. But the sled which 
succeeded in going farthest across the lake held as 
high a standing as the winner in speed. 

The first race of the season caused great excite- 
ment. Even Dan deserted his stand over at the 
station and came to take part. Dan was a big boy, 
and one of the best coaster drivers in the town, so 
that J ohn, Betty and Bobby all rushed for him at 
once, and begged him to take charge of their entry. 
As that was just what the big boy had come over 
for, he agreed graciously. 

There was fierce competition by the owners of 
the two big sleds for heavy riders. Fat boys and 
girls came into their own. Betty, however, made 
up for her lack of excessive weight by holding an- 
other child on her lap. Some of the other riders 
followed her example. It was the little girl’s first 
race, and as she gazed down the glittering white hill 
to the darker ice of the lake, she felt just a bit 
nervous. However, she was wedged in so tight in 
the crowd on the sled, that she had little fear of 
falling off. 

Two small boys, who had been sent down to test 
261 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 


the ice, returned now, and reported that it was 
bearing safely. They had jumped up and down 
in several ]3laces without bad results. The crowd 
got ready; the two sled loads counted in unison, 

“ One, two, three!” The boys pushed; the racers 
tipped over the edge, gathered speed, and whizzed 
down the slope. 

Both sled loads cheered, the watchers shouted 
and ran after, the steel runners sang over the hard- 
packed snow. The other sled had drawn half a 
length ahead. The riders shouted derisively. 
Then they hit a patch of rough going, and slowed 
down. Dan avoided the patch neatly, and passed 
his rival. Now Dan’s crew shouted and cheered. 
Betty held her breath, and shielded her face as well 
as she could from the flying bits of ice. She felt 
suddenly empty and queer below the belt line, but 
she glowed with excitement. 

In a moment, the two sleds, almost even, had 
reached the drop to the lake. With a swoop and 
an echoing scream, they flashed down it, the run- 
ners almost free of the snow. A snapping crash, 
and they were on the lake, Dan’s sled a nose ahead 
of the other, as they passed the gum tree. But the 
rival sled might yet slide to an equal victory, 
though Dan’s crew shouted their satisfaction at * 
having won the first point. 

Then, above the shouts, there sounded a sudden 
262 


JOHN AND BETTY. 

moaning, like a hundred giants in pain. “ The ice! 
Look out!” shouted Dan, as he steered Bobby’s 
sled sharply around. 

There was a confused and terrible sound, and 
then Betty found herself sprawling and breathless 
on the ice. A little way beyond, the other sled was 
just vanishing into a churning mass of dark water 
and broken ice. Dan had stopped quickly enough, 
although he had upset his passengers. The other 
driver had been too slow, and struck the treacher- 
ous soft patch in the middle. 

A long scream of terror rose from the doomed 
sled, just before it disappeared, and Betty turned 
pale. Then the little girl saw that Dan had scram- 
bled to his feet, and was untying their sled rope, as 
quickly as his fumbling fingers would allow. For- 
getting aching bruises and a skinned knee, she has- 
tened to help him. In a moment they had both 
ends loose, and at the same instant the supposedly 
drowning crew appeared with their shoulders out 
of water, helping each other up out of the mud. 
The little girl stared, amazed. 

“ Stand still ! ” Dan shouted. ‘‘ If you walk, 
you’ll get in deep. You upset right over the old 
road.” He turned to Betty and added, “ It’s most 
always soft there. I’d o’ thought the kids would 
try the ice that place first.” 

Under Dan’s directions, a stick was now tied to 
263 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 

one end of the rope, and while several boys held the 
opposite end, at a safe distance from the soft spot, 
the stick was thrown to the shivering boys in the 
water. 

“ One o’ you take hold at a time,” commanded 
the leader of the rescue party, “ an’ we’ll haul you 
out.” 

One after another, the drenched and muddy un- 
fortunates were drawn back onto the firm ice. As 
each one came in, Dan sent one of the other boys 
to run him home as fast as he could go. Stiffness 
and fright were no excuses for going slowly. All 
were dragged along at high speed. 

The big bob-sled was the only victim not recov- 
ered. In the excitement it had floated off under 
the ice, and was not found and dug out again until 
a week later. Dan received the thanks of the vil- 
lage for his prompt and efficient action, and a purse 
of ten dollars besides, which was presented with 
much ceremony, and appeared later as a new win- 
ter suit. It was more than a month, when the ice 
had hardened tight, before Balding Hill became 
once more popular. 

Betty reached home in time for supper on the 
day of the accident, feeling stiff, sore and tired. 
Under her plate she found a small package. It 
was not her birthday, or any other special occasion, 
so that she was much surprised. Betty examined 
264 


JOHN AND BETTY 


the mysterious parcel more closely. It was ad- 
dressed to her from the magazine. The little girl 
flushed red, and her heart began to thmnp with ex- 
citement. Could it be 

With shaking fingers, Betty tore open the 
wrapper, and a pretty little box fell out. In the 
box was a gold medal. The little girl stared at it, 
si3eechless. Mother laughed. “ Look, John,” she 
said. “ Isn’t it pretty? ” 

The boy gazed with respectful admiration. 
“ Looks like real gold,” he commented. 

“ Of course it is,” from Betty. 

“ I’ll give you that little gold chain of mine to 
wear it on,” said Mother. 

“ Oh, that will be lovely,” replied the young 
genius with enthusiasm. 

“ And,” added Mother, I’m just as proud as 
can be to think that we have a real authoress in the 
family.” 


265 


CHAPTER XXIII 


CHRISTMAS CHIMES 

It was the second week in December, and Christ- 
mas excitement among the children was just rising 
to fever heat. John and Betty were both to take 
part in the Sunday School entertainment. John 
had a very sweet voice, and he was to sing a little 
song all by himself, — except for the lady who 
played the piano, — about that Lass of Richmond 
Hill. While Betty, on account of her engaging 
dimples and fair curls, was to be the Queen of 
Christmas. 

Mother was making Betty a beautiful little scar- 
let dress, covered with downy, white cotton snow, 
and glittering with spangles like bits of shiny ice, 
in which the little girl was to hold high court on 
Christmas Eve. Betty was to have a throne in the 
middle of the platform, and a ring of tiny little 
people had to dance around her, singing, “We are 
the seconds, etc.” Then there would be another 
ring of children about Betty’s own size, who were 
to be minutes. And finally great big people of 
thirteen and fourteen were to be the hours. The 
266 


JOHN AND BETTY 


seconds, minutes and hours all had their own songs, 
which they were painfully learning at the rehearsals 
twice a week. Betty loved the rehearsals. She 
knew all the words and music, and she helped 
everybody sing. 

Then all the children took part in the play of the 
Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe. It was an 
enormous big shoe made of cardboard, and painted 
on the outside. All the children got behind it, and 
sang about how “ she had so many children, she 
didn’t know what to do.” There was a hole in the 
shoe in one place, and all the more adventurous 
took turns poking their heads through it. 

Besides the excitement of the coming entertain- 
ment, John and Betty had the thrills that come 
from choosing what you’ll buy for Mother’s Christ- 
mas present. They had more money this year 
than ever before, for there were nearly sixty dollars 
in the bank. They were afraid to spend more than 
half of it on Christmas on account of Billy’s ex- 
penses, but still thirty dollars ought to get some- 
thing very beautiful for Mother. 

There were so many things that Mother needed 
this year, that she could not afford to buy for her- 
self. But at last the children decided on a new 
warm winter coat. Mother’s old coat was too thin, 
and she shivered and coughed on cold days. 
Mother had sold her furs, and so they could not 
267 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 

help out. Betty was very thoughtful on this day. 
Then at last she said, “ Do you s’pose we could get 
Mamma a fur coat with that much money? It 
would be so much warmer.” 

“ I don’t know,” replied John, doubtfully. ‘‘We 
could ask Peter about it. He knows most any- 
thing.” 

So Peter Wayland was consulted, and when he 
found out who the coat was for, and how Mother 
coughed on cold days, he agreed to take the children 
in to the furrier’s, where his sister had always dealt, 
and he said he was quite sure they could find some- 
thing very nice for thirty dollars. The very next 
day he kept his promise. 

Betty was quite overwhelmed and John bewil- 
dered by the wonderful array of handsome furs in 
the city shop. They were overcome by awe be- 
fore the very fashionable saleslady who bowed and 
smiled such a lot. At last Betty picked out a coat 
of beautiful soft brown fur, with a big collar, that 
would turn clear up around your ears. She and 
John agreed that it was quite the nicest in the shop. 
Then Betty had a misgiving. “ How much is it? ” 
she asked. 

Peter Wayland whispered something to the 
salesperson. Then he looked at the tag on the 
coat. “ Twenty-five dollars,” he said. 

The little girl beamed with relief. “ We’ll take 
268 


JOHN AND BETTY 

it,” she said, “And maybe we could get a hat to 
go with it with the rest of the money.” 

Peter agreed, and they picked out a lovely little 
brown fur toque, that just matched the coat. Betty 
gave Mr. Wayland the thirty dollars, and while he 
arranged about the sale, they walked about, and 
looked at some of the other things in the shop. 
Betty found a case full of furs just for little boys 
and girls, and a moment after her gaze lighted upon 
it, she stood entranced before a vision of beauty. 
It was a set of white ermine furs, with little black 
tails. There was a nice fuzzy piece to go around 
one’s neck, and keep one’s ears warm, and then 
there was a lovely little muff, trimmed with an 
ermine head with very red glass eyes, that hung by 
a silk cord for one’s hands. Betty turned to a 
saleslady. “ How much is that? ” she asked. 

“ Eighty-five dollars,” replied the lady, smiling. 

The little girl gasped, and turned to John. “ I 
guess that coat for Mamma was very reasonable,” 
she said. 

“ What’s that? ” asked Peter, coming up. 

“ Mamma’s coat must have been a bargain, be- 
cause they’re asking eighty-five dollars for those,” 
and she pointed to the white furs. 

Peter hemmed. “ Well, you see, there’s a dif- 
ference in color,” he said. 

“ Ye-es,” agreed Betty, doubtfully, 

269 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 

Now that Mother’s Christmas present was all 
ready, the great day could not come fast enough to 
suit the children. Betty marked off the days on 
the calendar every morning, and counted how many 
were left. And a couple of times every day, one 
of them stole softly up-stairs to the attic, and 
peeked into the big old trunk in the far corner to 
make certain that the precious packages were safe. 

On the morning that Betty counted just one 
more day to Christmas, the excitement had become 
tremendous. Mother had to stay at the office only 
until noon that day, and the Sunday School enter- 
tainment came that night. When the children 
were hitching Billy up, to take Mother in to the 
station, John slipped his axe into the back of the 
buggy. “We can cut our own tree down in the 
woods for a surprise,” he said. 

His sister beamed. “ Sometimes you do think 
of things,” she said. “ And there’s the old tree 
holder Mother brought, up in the attic, and some 
balls and tinsel, and things. We can make it beau- 
tiful. Maybe we could find some holly and mistle- 
toe in the woods, too, and fix evervthing up.” 

“ Maybe.” 

With Mother safely off on the train, the children 
stopped to speak to Dan, before starting for the 
woods. Betty was shocked to observe that his right 
eye was all swollen and black and blue. “ You’ve 
270 


JOHN AND BETTY 

been fighting again,’' she said, with stern disap- 
proval. 

“ Haven’t either,” sullenly, 

“ Then where’d you get the black eye? ” 

^ Dan glowered, and felt of the injured member 
gingerly. “ Pop come home last night, and beat 
me up. He hit Ma over the head with the poker, 
too. I’m goin’ t’ lick the tar outta Pop, when I’m 
big enough,” and he clenched his fists. 

Betty was shocked. 

“ Where’s your pop been all this time? ” asked 
John. 

“ Jail. An’ I wish he was there or somewheres 
else now.” 

Betty had recovered her breath by now. “ Does 
he hit you all the time, when he’s home? ” she asked. 

Dan nodded gloomily. “ And Ma has to work 
extra hard t’ feed him, too, an’ when he gets to 
feelin’ good, he hits her too for fun, to make her 
cry.” 

Betty turned pale, and then she flushed very red. 
“That’s terrible!” she said. Then after a mo- 
ment’s thought, “ I’m going to tell Peter. He'll 
settle him.” 

Dan brightened slightly. “ Pop’s terrible 
tough,” he said, doubtfully. 

John threw his shoulders back. “ Peter’s awful 
strong. You ought to see him throw dumb-bells 
271 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 


around, and whop a punching bag. I guess if your 
pop was to act mean, he’d knock him out just like 
that,” and John gave a vigorous punch at an im- 
aginary foe. 

Before going down to the woods, John and Betty 
stopped at the Waylands’, and told Peter all about 
the sad case. Peter agreed with them that nobody 
had a right to act like Dan’s father, and he said he 
would see that the sheriff put a stop to it right 
away. 

The children thanked him warmly, and then 
drove back to give Dan the cheerful news. 

It took John and Betty quite a while to select a 
little pine tree, which was just the right size, bushy, 
and covered with pretty little cones. And then it 
required time and patience to make a neat job of 
chopping the tough trunk. But at last the task 
was accomplished, and the small tree tied fast to 
the back of the buggy, as it was too large to go in- 
side. The children succeeded in finding some 
pretty holly, with plenty of bright red berries, and 
even a little bunch of mistletoe. And then they 
hurried for home so as to reach the house before 
Mother. 

Mother went shopping in the city instead of 
coming straight home that day, so that the children 
had time to decorate the walls with holly and hang 
the mistletoe over the door. Betty found the tree- 
272 



It Looked Quite Gay 





JOHN AND BETTY 


stand and trimmings in the attic, and they set the 
tree up beside the fireplace in the parlor. It 
looked quite gay, when they had put on all the balls 
and tinsel, and the aromatic fragrance was deli- 
cious. Then they brought in logs from the wood- 
pile, and built a big Christmas fire, in the open 
fireplace, and threw in some dried pine cones, 
which they had brought with them from the woods, 
because the cones smelled so sweet when they 
burned. 

A little later Mother reached home, carrying a 
lot of mysterious packages, which she insisted on 
locking up in her room, before doing anything else. 
Mother was delighted with all the decorations, and 
she could not say enough about how clever the chil- 
dren had been, to think of it and do it all them- 
selves. 

Betty told Mother about Dan’s father, too, and 
Mother was very sorry for Dan, and glad that the 
children had tried to help. 

Supper was a hasty meal, because everybody was 
anxious to get ready for the big entertainment that 
night. 

Betty was quite rosy with excitement when 
Mother had buttoned her into the little scarlet 
Christmas queen dress. Mother put the gilt crown, 
which went with the costume, into her bag until 
they should arrive. John hugged his music roll 

273 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 


tight under his arm, and he cleared his throat a 
great many times, but he said he hadn’t any cold, 
and did not feel a bit nervous. His sister looked 
at him a bit suspiciously, but she did not say any- 
thing, She felt rather that way herself. And of 
course, singing all alone was a great deal worse 
than doing it with a lot of other people. 

Most people had gathered early at the church, 
where the Christmas celebration was to be given, 
so there was quite a crowd when Mother and the 
children arrived. Mother stopped to speak to an 
acquaintance in the vestibule, and the children 
slipped inside to see how things looked. At first 
all their attention was taken by the gorgeous red 
curtain hung in front of the platform at the far end 
of the room, and by the two beautiful Christmas 
trees set at each end of the platform. The trees 
were almost as high as the ceiling; spangled angels 
seemed to be just flying over them, and the green 
branches glittered from top to bottom with many 
colored little lights. Betty sighed with delight. 
“ It’s just like heaven,” she said. 

‘‘ I guess that’s candy underneath,” said prac- 
^ tical John. 

Betty looked down, and sure enough there were 
pyramids of little white boxes, tied with red Christ- 
mas ribbon. “ I’m glad there’s lots of it,” she said. 
“ I wish I had a piece now.” 

274 


JOHN AND BETTY. 


“ Hello,” said a new voice. 

The children looked, and saw Dan. He had a 
clean white bandage over his injured eye, so he did 
not look so bad. 

“ Mr. Wayland asked me t’ come an’ get some 
candy,” he explained. 

“ That’s fine,” said John. “ Did he fix your pop 
all right? ” 

Dan nodded. “ Brought the sheriff down, an’ 
told Pop if he didn’t behave, he’d got to quit town 
or be arrested. Pop was awful mad, but he didn’t 
dast t’ do anything.” 

Betty smiled. “ Peter’s really a lot of use,” she 
said. “ It seems funny that we used not to like 
him.” 

“ Well, that was when he was trying to marry 
Mamma,” explained John. 

“ Ye-es,” agreed Betty, doubtfully. And then 
quickly, “ I’m going to be Queen of Christmas, 
Dan.” 

“ Didn’t know there was a queen to Christmas,” 
replied Dan. “ Thought there was just Santa 
Claus.” 

“ Well, there is a queen,” firmly, ‘‘ because I’m 
it. And John’s going to sing a song, and why don’t 
you come up and do something, Dan? You could 
be one of the children in the old lady’s shoe, and 
poke your head out of the window.” 

275 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 


But Dan declined bashfully this chance for fame, 
and Mother appeared, and took John and Betty 
back to the dressing-room, where the performers 
were getting ready. Mother took off Bett3^’s coat 
and hat, smoothed her fair curls gently, and ad- 
justed the golden crown. Everybody thought 
Betty looked beautiful and angelic. Betty thought 
so, too, when she looked in the mirror. And even 
Mrs. Patterson, who had been very stern since the 
circus episode, softened up, and was quite agree- 
able. 

And then a little bell rang, the curtain was 
drawn aside and the performance began. There 
were some recitations, a parade of little girls with 
flags, and then John sang his little song. Even his 
sister admitted that he had a very sweet voice. It 
made her think of “ Jerusalem the golden, with 
milk and honey blest,” in the old hymn. Every- 
body^ clapped very loud, when John finished, and 
he bowed just as if he was used to it. And when 
he came back off the platform, a lot of ladies told 
him he had a wonderful voice, and some of them 
kissed him, and that made him flush very red. 

Then a big boy recited “ From Ghent to Aix,” 
and at last the curtain was drawn together again, 
and Betty’s gilded throne set up. The little girl 
felt as proud as all the queens of Europe when the 
curtains unclosed again, and display^ed her seated 
276 


JOHN :4ND BETTY. 

in regal splendor. Betty appeared quite calm, but 
really her heart was beating like a trip-hammer 
with excitement, while the “ seconds, minutes and 
hours ” danced and sang around her. Finally they 
finished, and the curtain swung to as they trooped 
away. But people clapped so hard that the cur- 
tain was opened again, and Betty smiled and 
nodded while the lesser fry bowed their acknowl- 
edgments. 

The old lady who lived in a shoe came next, and 
when that was over, all the children were taken 
down to sit in the first three rows of seats, which 
had been reserved for them. The church was dark- 
ened, all except a soft light in front of the curtains. 
And then a young lady came out and recited, It 
was the night before Christmas,” in such an excit- 
ing, creepy way that Betty’s heart went pitty-pat. 
And just as she finished the last line, the lights 
flashed on again, the curtains were flung open, and 
there was Santa Claus himself in his sleigh, drawn 
by reindeer. The deer were not prancing, but they 
looked very real. 

Santa Claus gave a cheerful halloo in a deep 
voice, and everybody cheered and clapped wildly. 
Then Santa climbed out of his sleigh, and said he 
was going to give everyone a box of candy, and 
then they must go home, and hang up their stock- 
ings, and pop into bed, and in the morning, all the 
277 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 

good little boys and girls would find what they 
wanted waiting for them. Everybody clapped 
again, and then Santa handed out the candy. 
Betty peered sharply up into Santa’s face. Of 
course, the nose wasn’t like, because it was so big 
and red, but somehow the twinkle in his eyes re- 
minded her of Peter. Betty was severely tempted 
to repeat, “ Peter picked a peck of pickled pep- 
pers,” but nobly refrained. She merely contracted 
her angelic countenance into a look . of extreme 
knowingness. Santa gave her a warning glance. 
“ I said all the good little boys and girls would get 
what they wanted,” he reminded. 

It was only nine o’clock when John, Betty and 
Mother reached home again, but the children pre- 
tended they were tired, and hurried off to bed, after 
hanging their largest stockings to the mantel in the 
parlor. When Mother had kissed them good- 
night, and gone down-stairs again, they stole softly 
up to the attic, and got the two precious packages. 
These they had marked that morning, “ For 
Mamma, with lots and lots of love, from John and 
Betty.” They hid the packages under Betty’s bed, 
because her spread reached clear to the floor, so no 
one could see under. Then the children crept back 
into bed, and lay quiet, listening. 

After a while. Mother came softly up-stairs, and 
tiptoed into each of their rooms in turn to look at 
278 


JOHN AND BETTY 


them. The children lay as still as mice, and 
breathed deeply, as if asleep. Mother seemed sat- 
isfied, and went into her room and closed the door. 
J ohn and Betty could hear her moving softly about 
in there. A moment later, the children were steal- 
ing barefoot down the back stairs, carrying the 
packages. They reached the parlor through the 
hall in safety, and laid the boxes at the foot of the 
Christmas tree. Betty put a sprig of holly on top. 

And then the door-bell rang suddenly and 
loudly. The children’s hearts seemed to jump into 
their mouths, and they had just time to dart back 
through the hall, before Mother started down- 
stairs. They ran up the back stairs, as Mother came 
down the front, rushed into their rooms, jumped 
into bed, pulled up the covers, and lay panting and 
listening. They felt it would have been awful to 
be caught fixing Mother’s Christmas presents. 
Mother opened the front door, and the children 
heard her say, “ Why, you’re just covered with 
snow! ” 

Snowing! A white Christmas! The children’s 
eyes sparkled. 

“ It’s not bad yet,” replied Peter’s voice. Then 
lower, ‘‘ Are the youngsters asleep yet? ” 

“ I think so, but you never can be sure,” replied 
Mother. 

“ Well, look. It’s for them.” 

279 


JOHN AND BETTY 


‘‘ Oh, isn’t it a beauty! ” cried Mother. 

The children fairly tingled with curiosity. 

“ Do you think they’ll like it? ” asked Peter. 

“ They’ll be perfectly delighted! ” 

“What do you s’pose it is?” asked Betty, in a 
stage whisper. 

“ Don’t know. Listen! ” replied John. 

Mother and Peter were talking again. “I’m a 
little worried about Bobby,” he was saying. “ He 
went out with his sled when it started to snow. It 
was ten when I came over, and he wasn’t back yet. 
Half-past now. I guess I’ll find him in when I get 
home. I just thought he might have taken it into 
his head to come over here for a few minutes, but 
I didn’t see him on the way.” 

“ If Bobby does come. I’ll see that he gets home 
again safely,” promised Mother. 

“ Thank you,” said Peter. 

It seemed to take the two a long time to say 
good-night, but at last Peter left with a cheerful 
“ Merry Christmas.” 

“ Merry Christmas,” replied Mother. 

Betty stretched herself out with a long sigh of 
content. “ John? ” she called softly. 

“Yes?” 

“ I feel just like an angel.” 

“ So do I.” 


280 


CHAPTER XXIV 


THE LOST IS FOUND 

It seemed about ten minutes later that John was 
shaking his sister by the arm. Betty opened her 
eyes with difficulty. “ What’s the matter? ” she 
asked. 

“ Merry Christmas,” whispered John. “ It’s 
six o’clock.” 

In an instant Betty was wide awake. She 
slipped on her shoes and a woolly bathrobe, trying 
hard not to shiver out loud, and the two stole softly 
down-stairs. 

The dawn had not come yet, but the white snow 
on the ground reflected the dim light from the sky, 
so that there was a gray twilight outside by which 
you could see. John and Betty gently drew the 
parlor curtains up as far as they would go, and then 
they brought their stockings over by the windows, 
so that they could see to unpack. The stockings 
were delightfully and mysteriously lumpy. 

“ Let’s take turns opening,” suggested Betty. 
“ Then it’ll last longer. You can start,” gener- 
ously. 

John hastily pulled open his first parcel, and 
281 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 


inside he found a pair of warm knitted gloves, 
marked “With love, from Aunt Mary.” While her 
brother tried them on, Betty opened her first par- 
cel, and found another pair like them, except that 
her gloves were smaller, and blue in color instead of 
brown. Then John found two new neckties, one 
of them a beautiful shade of red. The red one he 
tied on around his pajama collar. And his sister’s 
next package held two satin hair ribbons, one rose 
color and the other blue. Then there were candy 
and oranges, and two candy canes carefully 
wrapped up, and finally two dear little boxes clear 
doAvn in the toe. John’s held the prettiest silver 
watch with a silver chain to go with it, and Betty’s 
had a dainty gold ring set with three of the loveliest 
little white seed pearls. These were from Mother, 
and it was some time before the children could turn 
from admiring them to open the last two big par- 
cels under the Christmas tree. 

At last, however, Betty opened her box marked 
from Uncle John. She had great hopes of it, be- 
cause she had written her uncle this year that she 
did not want any more dolls, but regular boy’s 
things ; something that would go. There was a lot 
of packing in the box, but presently the little girl 
had it out, and then she drew out a curious cylin- 
drical object with wheels and valves. John looked 
eagerly. “It’s a gasoline engine,” he said dc- 
282 


JOHN AND BETTY 

lightedly. “ We can have lots of fun with it. 
Bobby told me all about ’em. They’ll pull eleva- 
tors up and down, and all kinds of things, if you 
put a string over the wheel.” 

Betty beamed. “ That’s fine. Now you try 
your big one.” 

John’s bundle was long like an umbrella, but 
when he got it open, what he saw was a gray cloth 
case with several compartments in it. In each 
opening was a polished bamboo stick, with metal 
pieces on the end, and round wires attached to the 
sides. The two children were puzzled. 

“ It isn’t golf clubs,” said Betty, doubtfully. 

And then John pulled out a round metal object 
that worked with a handle, and on it was wound a 
lot of twine. Suddenly a light of understanding 
came into his e3^es. “ Hurrah ! ” he shouted. “ It’s 
a regular rod and reel ! See. It all fits together.” 
And he attached the metal pieces until he had one 
long tapering rod. The reel fitted into a slide in 
the handle. John promptly began to whip an im- 
aginary pool. 

But Betty was thoughtful. Finally, ‘‘ Did you 
notice? There wasn’t anything marked from 
Peter? ” 

John stopped whipping for a moment. “ That’s 
so.” 

“ I wonder ” The light was growing 

283 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 

stronger, and the little girl peered keenly all 
around the room. Suddenly she gasped and caught 
her brother’s arm. “John! Look! There’s some- 
thing behind the door! ” 

Sure enough something gleamed there, catching 
a ray of the first sunlight. There followed a rush 
for the door, and the excited children pulled out a 
beautiful bob-sled marked for John and Betty 
from Peter Wayland. 

“ It’s a peach! ” said John. 

“You bet!” agreed Betty, forgetting to talk 
carefully in her enthusiasm. 

And it was. It was a flexible flyer, with two sets 
of steel runners, and a regular steering wheel to 
guide it. The body was big enough to hold four 
or five children coasting. The name Lightning 
was painted on it in gold letters. 

“ I bet she goes like lightning, too,” said John. 

“ I’m awf’ly glad it snowed last night,” from 
Betty. 

“ So’m I.” 

And at this point Mother appeared at the head 
of the stairs. 

“Merry Christmas!” cried both children, each 
trying to get ahead of the other, and they dashed 
up-stairs and hugged Mother until she could hardly 
breathe. 

“Help!” cried Mother, laughing breathlessly. 

284 


JOHN AND BETTY 

The strong young arms relaxed, and two rosy 
faces were held up for kisses. This ceremony over 
with, each youngster seized one of Mother’s arms, 
and they proceeded to hale her away down-stairs to 
the parlor, both talking at once. 

“ The ring is beautiful,” said Betty. 

“ And the watch an’ chain,” from John. 

“ And I got a gas’line engine ” 

“ And a fishing rod ’n’ reel ” 

“ Gloves V ” 

“ Ties!” 

“ And a sled! ” both together. 

And with that they all three rushed into the 
parlor. Mother admired everything just as if she 
had not seen it all last night. And then the chil- 
dren made her sit down, and brought her the pre- 
cious packages to open. It was a rule that Mother 
couldn’t open anything from the children until 
Christmas morning. Half the joy of the day 
would have been gone if they could not see Moth- 
er’s pleased surprise. 

Mother started with the smaller box, and when 
she had carefully opened it, saving the pretty 
string, she certainly was surprised to see the pretty 
brown fur toque. Mother kissed both the children, 
and they made her try the hat on. It was certainly 
becoming, but Mother scolded them for having 
spent so much of their hard earned money on her. 
285 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 


“ It didn’t cost so awf’ly much,” protested 
Betty. 

And then Mother opened the big box, and when 
she saw the lovely fur coat, she fairly gasped. 
“ Gracious, children! ” she said. “ Did you break 
a bank? ” 

John and Betty laughed. “Try it on!” they 
cried. 

Mother did so, but with a thoughtful look in her 
face. She looked quite another person, all dressed 
up. She was so pretty that she quite took even the 
children’s breath away. And if Peter had seen her 
that way, he would have had to propose again on 
the spot. 

Betty smiled with satisfaction. “ Well, Peter 
has good taste,” she said. 

“Peter!” from Mother. She flushed. “You 
mean Mr. Wayland?” 

“ Yes. He took us to the city, where his sister 
buys, and helped us pick it out. It was quite a 
bargain.” 

A light of understanding came into Mother’s 
eyes, but she did not seem altogether pleased. In 
fact she frowned. “ I see. Well, I’ll have to talk 
to Mr. Wayland about it.” 

Betty was puzzled. “ He was very nice.” 

Mother smiled again. “ Of course, you wouldn’t 
know.” 


286 


JOHN AND BETTI 


“ Know what? ” 

But Mother would not tell. She took off the 
coat and hat, and put them carefully back in the 
boxes, to keep them from getting mussed, she said. 

Right after breakfast John and Betty put on 
their new gloves, and went out to try the beautiful 
' sled. The polished runners fairly slipped along 
over the snow, and John gave Betty a quick ride 
up the street. Betty was just going to give him 
one in return, when a crowd of little boys came 
along the road. The children generally had noth- 
ing to do with the rough little boys on the street, 
but this time the boj^s seemed to be so excited that 
John became curious. 

“ What’s the matter? ” he called. 

“ Bobby Wayland’s lost.” 

“ What! ” together. 

“ They think Dan Wilson’s pop kidnapped ’im 
for revenge,” delightedly, for it was quite a dime 
novel thrill. “ They’ve been huntin’ all night, but 
the snow’s covered all the footprints, ’n’ they can’t 
find ’im.” 

John and Betty flew for home. A few excited 
words told Mother of the accident, and then the 
children were off as fast as they could go for the 
town. Here the story was confirmed. Bobby had 
been out sledding, and failed to return. They 
found his sled at the foot of a hill, but he had dis- 
287 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 


appeared. Mr. Wilson had been around town the 
evening before, saying he was going to get even 
with that “smart Aleck” preacher. Now he had 
disappeared, too, and it was supposed he had stolen 
Bobby Wayland. Searchers had been out all night 
led by Peter, but had found nothing. The alarm 
had been sent out in every direction. 

John and Betty looked very solemn. 

“ Poor Bobby! ” said Betty, with a quivery sigh. 

John blew his nose very hard. 

The two no longer felt like playing with their 
new sled. They sat sadly on the edge of the sta- 
tion platform, and thought. Presently Betty 
shivered. “ Bobby might freeze to death, if Mr. 
Wilson didn’t kill him first,” she said. 

Her brother shuddered. “ Don’t talk like that.” 

“ Well, he might.” 

“ We — ^we got to do something.” Brightening, 
“ Let’s pretend I’m Sherlock Holmes, and 
you’re ” 

“ No, I won’t be Watson,” protested the little 
girl, firmly. “ He wasn’t a bit smart and he didn’t 
do anything except write. I think he was horrid. 
We’ll both be Sherlock.” 

“All right,” agreed John, resignedly. “We 
can call you Sherlock, and me Holmes.” 

“ All right. But now we got to think where 
Mr. Wilson could have hidden Bobbv.” 

288 


JOHN AND BETTY 

There ensued a deep silence. At last, IMr. 
Mann’s barn’s a good place to hide,” from 
John. 

“ They’d o’ found him there long ago ! ” scorn- 
fully. 

“ Well, where’d you hunt, Sherlock? ” 

“ Maybe the woods.” 

“ They been huntin’ there all night an’ morn- 
mg. 

“ Ye-es, — but And then a light came into 

her face. “ I got an idea. Where’d we hide him 
that time? ” 

“ You mean the ” 

“Yes. S-sh!” mysteriously. “You see that’s 
way out from town, and it wouldn’t be snowing in 
there. Everybody’s been looking in the woods 
down toward Wilson’s, and maybe they haven’t 
tried out there yet.” 

John’s eyes gleamed. “We might take Path- 
finder. I guess Dan would let us,” he suggested. 

“ But don’t tell Dan our idea,” warned Betty. 
“ Bobby mayn’t be there, but I think he is. Prob- 
’ly Mr. Wilson locked him in, an’ then went off’n 
left him. He couldn’t get away with Bobby along, 
you know, and everybody looking.” 

This struck John as sound logic. “ Then we 
can rescue him all by ourselves,” he said, feeling 
the attraction of glory. 

289 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 


His sister nodded. 

Dan was at home, lying down. He had been 
out hunting for Bobby with Path-finder since two 
in the morning, and was very tired. 

“You can have the dog, if you want,” Dan 
agreed. “ But I don’t think it’ll be any good. 
There’s so much snow fell last night he can’t smell 
nothin’. I think Pop’s got clear off.” 

“We can try anyway,” John said. “We’ll 
bring Path-finder back all right.” 

Dan stuck his hand in his pocket. “ Here’s one 
of the kid’s mittens. I had it last night. Let the 
pup smell it before you start huntin’ for a trail.” 

“ Thanks,” said John, and took it. 

Mrs. Wilson was over at a neighbor’s, so there 
was no one to question the children as they set out 
on their search. Path-finder moved along will- 
ingly on his rope leash; he did not seem to be spe- 
cially tired. The children talked cheerfully about 
what great detectives they were, and gave each 
other rides alternately on the sled. But when they 
came at last into the fringe of woods before the 
lake, they fell silent. In fact, all at once they felt 
a little afraid. 

The underbrush was very thick, and the snow 
had not sifted through heavily. “ Maybe Path- 
finder could smell something here,” whispered 
Betty. 


290 


JOHN AND BETTY 


John took out Bobby’s mitten, and let the dog 
smell it. Then, “ Go find,” he commanded. 

Path-tfinder began to sniff along the ground. 
And then presently he gave a low woof, and began 
to pull hard on his leash. The children’s hearts 
gave a great jump, and they exchanged glances. 
The dog was leading straight along the path to- 
ward where the old boat used to be. And then on 
the leeward side of a big bush they saw the mark of 
a big foot still clear in the shallow snow, and beside 
it a little one. In the heel of the small footprint 
was a heart-shaped indentation. 

The children stopped dead. “ That’s his new 
boots,” whispered Betty. “ Don’t you remember 
the heart? ” 

John nodded. 

Both children were pale, and panting a little, 
though they had not been running. 

“ I guess we better leave Path-finder here,” said 
Betty at last, softly. “ Dan wouldn’t like it, if 
anything happened to him.” 

John’s heart gave an extra hard thump almost 
up into his mouth, while his sister tied the dog to a 
stout bush. “ D’you think hes still there? ” he 
asked, with an effort. 

“ I don’t know.” 

John gulped. “ Had we better get somebody 
else to help? ” 


291 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 

Betty hesitated and then shook her head. “ It’s 
a long way back, and maybe he might kill Bobby 
while we were gone. Maybe Mr. — ^you know — 
will really be gone when we get there.” She dared 
not pronounce the fateful name. 

John squared his shoulders. “Well, let’s get 
clubs.” 

They hunted about, and selected the two heaviest 
sticks they could find, testing them against the 
ground to make sure they were not rotten. Thus 
armed, the two felt a little better, though they both 
wished silently that they had the old rifle from the 
attic along, and a few husky people like Peter, the 
sheriff and Dan. 

And then the shore of the lake came in sight. 
They stopped abruptly; the boat was gone! “ It’s 
sunk! ” whimpered Betty, and they both ran down 
to look. 

Then around a little cape of land, they caught a 
glimpse of the missing boat. It was frozen up al- 
most in the middle of the small lake. Some fall 
storm had loosened it from its moorings, and it had 
been floating up and down until caught firmly by 
the ice. The boat looked far more dilapidated 
than before. Most of the railing was gone from 
the back, but it still floated high. 

The children stood quite still, and stared out at 
the boat intently. They saw no sign of life and 
292 


JOHN AND BETTY 

heard nothing except the sough of the wind through 
the trees at their backs. John breathed a sigh half 
of relief. “ I don’t believe there’s anything there 
after all,” he said. “ Prob’ly they came this way, 
but they must have gone further.” 

Betty cheered up visibly. “ Well, we might 
take a look — just to make sure,” she suggested, for 
she hated to turn back without having done any- 
thing. “And then we can go home, ’n’ have lunch. 
It’s getting awful late, and Mother’ll be wor- 
ried.” 

John gazed up at the sky, and saw that it was 
fully noon, for the winter sun stood overhead. “All 
right,” he agreed. “We better hurry. I’m hun- 

“ So’m I.” 

John clutched his stick firmly, and tested the ice 
next the bank with it. “ Ice’s good and thick here,” 
he announced, cheerfully, and stepped down 
upon it. 

Betty followed him with the sled. 

At first the two slid along almost gaily, though 
they did not talk or laugh out loud. But as they 
came nearer to the old boat, talk died out altogether, 
and an eerie feeling came over them. Betty felt as 
if a cold earthworm were wiggling up and down her 
back. A sensation of positive dread came over the 
two as they slowly approached the rear of the boat. 

293 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 

They set their feet down softly, and the faint grat- 
ing of the sled seemed like a loud alarm. They 
would have turned back, but neither was willing to 
appear a coward before the other. 

And then they heard a faint crying sound. 
Betty caught John’s arm. They halted, staring 
with dilated eyes. Perhaps it was just the wind, 
or their fancy. But no. It came a little louder, 
and then stopped. It was quite near them; it was 
on the boat. 

The children exchanged glances. And then 
John bent toward Betty, until his lips were just 
next her ear. He’s there too.” He spoke in 
just a breath. “ I see his foot.” 

Betty looked, and sure enough, amongst the 
wreckage of the rail an old boot appeared around 
the corner of the cabin. It moved just a trifle. 
Mr. Wilson was evidently lying down. The little 
girl prayed he was asleep. 

John spoke again in the same low murmur. 
“ This is a man’s job. I’m going to try to let 
Bobby out. You keep back, and if he starts after 
us, run for all you’re worth, and get Peter.” 

Betty nodded. For the first time in her life she 
failed to argue. 

John now stole forward as softly as an Indian, 
and Betty disobeyed one of his commands, for she 
crept after him. Now they could see almost all of 
294 


JOHN AND BETTY 


Mr. Wilson, as he sprawled on the deck alongside 
the cabin. He was covered with a couple of horse 
blankets, and a bottle stood beside him. His face 
was very red, and he snored occasionally. John 
approached the cabin from the side farthest from 
the dread figure, but the boat was so small that the 
boy was perilously near as he stepped gingerly 
aboard. The boat canted over a little, as the new 
weight came upon it, and Mr. Wilson’s bottle slid 
up against the cabin side with a thump. The man 
snorted and moved. Both children crouched low 
and kept perfectly still. Presently the snoring 
began again. 

J ohn moved forward a step or two to the cabin 
door. It was bolted. Very gently he began to 
work at the rusty old bolt. He must slide it back, 
so that it would not squeak and give the alarm. It 
seemed ages to Betty while John slowly drew the 
bolt back. Her heart felt as if it were throbbing 
in her throat, but she had almost forgotten to be 
afraid. She was watching the sleeping man with 
all her eyes. Her stick was clenched firmly in her 
two hands. She had made up her mind, if Mr. 
Wilson woke, to hit him as hard as she could. He 
shouldn’t get John and Bobby. 

And then at last the bolt was back far enough, 
and John gently pulled open the cabin door. In 
the gloom within he could just make out a huddled 

295 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 


form in the far corner, a white face, and two star- 
ing eyes. John raised his fingers to his lips. 
Bobby choked back a cry of surprise and relief, and 
crawled slowly to the door. He was so stiff with 
cold he could not walk. At the door J ohn put his 
arm around the other boy, and helped him to the 
edge of the boat. The little girl hung to the side 
of the boat with all her might to keep it from jolt- 
ing, while John lowered Bobby onto the sled, and 
then slipped to the ice himself. 

Betty started at once to draw the sled toward the 
nearest shore. At first they moved slowly and 
softly, with John behind as rear guard. But when 
they were a few yards away, John whispered to 
Bobby, “ Hold on for your life! ” Then he took 
hold of the sled rope with Betty, and they ran as 
fast as they could go. 

Bobby lay on the sled full length, and gripped 
the sides with his numb fingers. Betty glanced 
behind just once, but saw nothing. Then she 
looked ahead, and almost halted. “ It’s thin! ” she 
said. 

John slowed up. They had made straight for 
the shore instead of going the roundabout way 
they had come. Just ahead for several yards be- 
fore the bank, the ice had been protected from the 
full sweep of the wind. It was thin and dark. 
And with a shock the children remembered that 
296 


JOHN AND BETTY 

here was the deepest part of the lake. “ Potter’s 
hole,” whispered Betty, with pale lips. 

Her brother glanced back. He saw they would 
have to return some distance to go around the other 
way. “ We’ve got to chance it,” he said. “ Betty, 
you take the front end of the rope. I’ll take the 
middle. Then we won’t all come on the same ice 
at once.” Betty obeyed. ‘‘Now hang on!” to 
Bobby. 

With a rush they were out on the treacherous ice. 
The thin footing quivered and quaked under their 
advance. Cracks ran out in every direction, and a 
great moaning echoed from bank to bank like the 
ravings of a hungry monster. Chasms opened be- 
fore the little girl; she slipped and slid as she 
jumped across. A fleeting recollection of Eliza 
passed across her mind in the midst of the hurry. 
She wondered if Eliza had been able to swim, or 
could only paddle like herself. And then her foot 
touched the bank; the other was on, and then there 
sounded just behind her a splash. Quick as a wink, 
Betty leaned forward and pulled. There came a 
great jerk on the rope; the little girl could hardly 
hold on; and then John had drawn his leg clear of 
the water and reached shore. In a moment they 
had pulled the sled free of the rotten ice, up the 
bank and onto the old cow-path running through 
the woods. 


297 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 


The children dared not look back. Mr. Wilson 
must have wakened when the thin ice groaned; he 
must be after them. Panting, they rushed through 
the woods on the old short cut home. Not until 
they had crossed the little frozen brook, passed the 
last tree, and gone half-way across the first field, 
did they slacken pace to breathe. Betty felt as if 
her short legs were weighted with lead, and as if she 
could never get enough air into her lungs again. 
And then Bobby slid off the sled, and lay limp in 
the snow. The children paused in consternation, 
and forgot all about being worn out. 

John turned Bobby over, and listened to his 
heart. The older boy’s face cleared. “ He’s all 
right. He’s just fainted like Addie Smith did that 
day in Sunday School. But he’s terrible cold.” 

Betty helped John put the little boy back on the 
sled. Then John took off his coat, si^read it over 
Bobby, and tied the arms under the sled. Betty 
did the same with hers, tying it lower down. Then 
they picked up the rope and ran on again. “ We’ll 
have t-to hurry, so we w-won’t catch c-cold,” shiv- 
ered Betty. 

It took the children some time to lift the sled and 
its burden over the low orchard fence, but they did 
not worry a great deal, as they saw no avenging 
Mr. Wilson in pursuit. Once over, they hurried 
up through the orchard toward the house, 

298 


JOHN AND BETTY 

Mother had been watching anxiously for the 
children’s return, for she could not imagine their 
intentionally missing a good Christmas dinner. 
She saw them coming through the orchard. And 
then she glimpsed the bundle on the sled, perceived 
the youngsters’ coatless condition, and guessed 
what they had. In a moment she ran out to meet 
them, slipped Bobby out from under the coats, and 
carried him into the house. John and Betty 
paused to untie their coats, and then followed. 

Mother had laid Bobby on the couch. “ Fill the 
hot-water bottles,” she ordered Betty. “ Get blan- 
kets,” she said to John. And while they hastened 
to obey. Mother herself mixed a hot drink, and be- 
gan to feed it to Bobby with a spoon. It was diffi- 
cult at first to get it through the boy’s shut teeth, 
but presently some dribbled through. Bobby 
swallowed, and then his muscles relaxed a little, 
and his teeth opened. The rest went down more 
easily, and his eyes were open, and a little color 
coming into his face, by the time they had applied 
the hot-water bottles, and wrapped him in warm 
blankets. Bobby could not help whimpering a lit- 
tle from pain, as he began to warm up. Mother 
heated some milk, and he drank it ravenously, for 
he was very hungry. 

Mother turned at last to John and Betty. Get 
something hot to drink,” she bade them. “And 
299 


THE JOYOUS ADVENTURES OF 

then take Billy, and go tell Pete — Mr. Way land — 
that Bobby is all right.” 

The children drank some hot milk, and then hur- 
ried to obey. Billy was harnessed in record time, 
and in a few minutes they were driving fast up the 
road. They had not gone far, when they saw a little 
group of men, who seemed to be searching for 
something in a field. 

“ There’s the sheriff,” said Betty, and pulled 
up. 

John leaned far out. “He’s found!” he shouted. 

“Where? Who 

“ Wilson had him in the old boat down on the 
lake,” cried John. “ We left Path-finder tied 
down in the woods. He’ll show you where Wilson 
is, if he’s started away.” And with a slap of the 
lines they were off again, leaving a torrent of ques- 
tions behind. 

They did not stop to inform any more people, 
but drove straight to Peter Wayland’s. The 
young minister had just come in from searching, in 
order to learn the news, and to help concert new 
measures for continuing the hunt more thoroughly. 
The children saw him on the porch, and hailed him 
loudly. Peter ran down to them hastily. “Any 
news? ” he called. 

“ Bobby’s found,” shouted John. 

“ We found him,” explained his sister. And in 
300 


JOHN AND BETTY 


answer to Peter’s mute inquiry, “ He’s all right, 
and he’s at our house.” 

“ Mother sent us to tell you,” finished John. 

With a jump Peter was in the carriage. The 
children moved over to make room for him. “ Let 
me drive,” he said, in a smothered sort of voice. 
Betty handed over the lines, and then the surprised 
Billy received a slap, which made him step out for 
all he was worth. 

Betty was on the outside, and she had to hold on 
as tight as she could to keep from slipping, as the 
carriage rattled and swayed over the snowy ruts. 
And then Peter began asking questions about how 
it all happened. The children told him, but they 
all had to talk in shouts in order to make each other 
hear. When they had finished, they were home, 
and Peter pulled up. He jumped out of the car- 
riage, and then he turned to John and Betty, and 
said very solemnly, “ I’ll never forget what you’ve 
done to-day, and I’ll be grateful all my life.” And 
then he hurried up on the porch. The front door 
was not locked, and he went right in, closing it 
after him. 

The children paused to throw a blanket over 
Billy, so he would not catch cold, and they tied the 
lines around the hitching post. Then they followed 
Peter. At the door of the parlor they paused. 
Mother was sitting by the open fire, her eyes all 
301 


JOHN AND BETTY 

soft and shiny. And Bobby, wrapped in a blanket, 
was lying asleep on Mother’s lap. And Peter was 
kneeling beside them, hugging the two of them up 
in his strong young arms, and saying, “ My dar- 
lings ! ” over and over. Then he kissed Mother 
over Bobby’s tousled red head. 

John and Betty retired silently to the kitchen, 
whither a pleasant odor invited them. Each care- 
fully selected a drum stick from the pot. John 
carefully balanced his piece of chicken, so that the 
gravy would not drip on his trousers, and then he 
gave his sister an inquiring look. 

Betty nodded her head. She took another bite 
of chicken, swallowed it, and then declared herself, 
generously. “ I guess I don’t mind — so long as 
it’s Peter.” 


302 


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